


The Broken Places

by coolbyrne



Category: Pacific Rim, Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: F/F, Rizzoli & Isles |, fan fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 22:47:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3464852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbyrne/pseuds/coolbyrne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crossover fic between Rizzoli & Isles and Pacific Rim. Jane is called back into service and is forced to deal with old memories and a new partner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

TITLE: The Broken Places

AUTHOR: coolbyrne

RATING: T; a temporary switch to M will be noted later.

SUMMARY: Crossover fic between Pacific Rim and Rizzoli & Isles. Jane is called back into service and is forced to deal with old memories and a new partner.

A/N: They have been added to the end of this chapter.

…..

_The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. -Ernest Hemingway_

…..

It was never quiet. The welding crews worked around the clock, acetylene torches sending high arcs of light throughout the dingy garage. Iron workers hammered into the night, shaping and reshaping. Laughter and chatter filled in the cracks of silence. It was never quiet. Except in her head.

She threw back the shot of whiskey and slammed the glass on the counter. With a tap of her finger, she signaled for another. The bartender sauntered over and shook his head.

“You’ve already had two too many, Rizzoli.”

Her laugh was hollow. “C’mon, Bill. It’s not like I’m driving anywhere.”

He gave her a hard stare then shrugged. “Don’t puke on my bar this time.” The bottle tilted but a hand covered the glass.

“Who the fuck do you-” She spun on the bar stool and her voice died in her throat.

“Hello, Jane.”

She groaned and turned her attention back to the bar. “Go away.”

The tall, dark man pulled up a stool, and leaned back against the rail, taking in the surroundings. His look of disdain was unmistakable. She snorted and made eye contact with Bill, who filled her glass.

“Brickmore doesn’t meet with your approval, Stacks?” she asked, downing the shot.

“Could use a woman’s touch,” he deadpanned. Turning in his seat, he said, “And I’m still your commanding officer.”

She rested her chin in her hand and sighed. “You haven’t been my commanding officer for almost three years. Marshal.”

Marshal Stacker Pentecost chose to ignore the tone. “I’d ask you how things are, but that’s fairly obvious.”

“And you’ve still got that stick up your ass,” she replied. “Now that we’ve caught up, you can fuck off.”

“So this is how one of the most decorated Rangers in the Corp ended up, is it?” She didn’t respond and he continued. “You know they still sell your posters. I spoke at a school assembly in Osaka last month and all the little girls wanted to know how to ‘Become a pilot like Ranger Jane Rizzoli?’”

“I hope you told them to grow up and get better role models.” She tapped her glass again.

Stacker glanced at the bartender and raised an eyebrow. The server stepped away. “The way things are going, Ranger, those girls won’t have a chance to grow up.”

This bit of information caused a nearly imperceptible twitch in her jaw. She covered the reaction with a terse, “Not my problem.”

“You’re right,” he agreed. “It’s my problem. I was hired to protect, and I intend on fulfilling that requirement.”

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed. “Academy recruits that bad, huh?”

He leaned in, all pretense gone, his voice flat and direct. “I don’t give a toss about the Academy right now. I need someone trained and experienced. I need the best.”

She blew out a breath and rested her head in the crook of her elbow. “Sorry you came all the way to this shithole for nothing, Marshal. Or did you figure out a way to bring my brother back from the dead?” Her eyes drifted shut.

“I’ve got you a new partner, Jane.” When no answer came, he glanced at the bartender.

Shrugging, Bill said, “She ends up like this every night.”

The marshal stood and tossed some money on to the bar. Effortlessly, he threw her over his shoulder. “Not anymore.”

…

“Welcome to Nagasaki, Jane!” he bellowed over the helicopter’s engines.

She willed her eyes to open, and ran a tongue over fuzzy teeth. Pain flashed between her brows; the light seemed to be set on ‘Blinding’. He tossed her a pill bottle that landed neatly in her lap, and a water bottle that rolled to her feet. She reached down but was jerked back by the dual seat belts. With a groan, she flicked the bottle up with her feet and twisted off the cap. Half the water ended up down her front, but she didn’t care. The roar of the chopper made her wince.

“This a Jumper?” she shouted.

“V-50 Jumphawk. They don’t just carry Jaegers.”

She glanced around the small space. “Never been in one. Weird.”

“Sorry you won’t have much time to experience it,” he yelled. “We’re about to land.”

Rubbing her hands over her face, she muttered more to herself than to Stacker. “Shit. How long was I out?”

…

“Nagasaki Shatterdome,” he announced as they exited the landing area. “Finished on December 12, 2018.”

Her surprise was evident. “I’m impressed. Four years and it still has that new car smell.” She let her eyes take in the sights. As with most ‘domes, it was huge, though not nearly as big as the one in Los Angeles. “How many does it hold?”

His long stride took them towards the housing area. “In total? With workers, civilians, and recruits, approximately 4 million, about a third of the one in Tokyo.”

“How many Jaegers?”

“One active, one backup, and two in various stages of development.” They arrived outside a nondescript metal door. “These are your quarters,” he said, pushing open the door. “It’s 0800 now. Why don’t you get some sleep, have a shower, a bite to eat, whatever, and meet me in the Combat Room at 1300 hours?”

She shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat, Marshal.”

He looked at her with dark eyes. “Come prepared.”

…

Though she would never admit it, the bed was a hell of a lot better than the thin mattress afforded by her wage as a welder. The pillow had some density to it, and even the blanket seemed like a luxury. There was no clock, but she didn’t need one. Despite removing herself from military service three years ago, her body clock never got the news, so the mere thought of when she had to wake up made it happen. Which was how she found herself, albeit unwillingly, rolling out of bed at 11:30. She could have slept all day, but she relished the idea of a hot shower and a hot meal.

Figuring less time in the mess hall was more time in the shower, she didn’t grab a tray until 12:25, pretending all the while to ignore the looks and whispers directed her way. She sat at the end of a long table and kept her head down. The food was a million times better than she remembered.

Remembered. Memories.

“Hey. You new?”

Her head jerked up at the question. Across the table sat a young man with a bright smile.

“No,” she replied flatly, “I’m old.”

“I didn’t mean your age,” he said, missing or ignoring her disinterested reply. “I mean, I’ve never seen you around here before. So you’re new.”

“So why did you ask?”

He held up his hands, a knife in one, a fork in the other. “Just makin’ casual conversation with the new hot chick.” He lowered his hands and began eating.

She couldn’t help but smirk. “What’s your name, Romeo?”

He looked up and winked. “Barry. Barry Frost. Came in for Ranger training, but ended up getting shuttled over to welding.” Leaning forward, he whispered, “I’m calling racism on the whole thing.”

A chuckle escaped and she nodded. “Yeah, if only you were the same shade of brown as Marshal Pentecost.”

“Exactly!” He pointed his fork at her. “Can a brother help it if he’s cappuccino instead of espresso?”

She blinked at his audacity, until he burst out laughing. As a sign of her approval, she said, “Jane Rizzoli. More of a latte.”

His smile dropped and his eyes widened. “Ranger Jane Rizzoli? Holy shit!”

She tossed her cutlery onto the tray and stood up abruptly.

“Hey!” he said, standing. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sorry. Really, I’m sorry.” She gave no response except an empty stare. “I just…you’re a legend, that’s all.”

Picking up her tray, she said, ‘Yeah. That’s all.”

As she walked away, he called out, “Don’t be mad! I’m sorry.” He slumped back into his chair and watched until she was out of view.

…

Though she’d never been to the Nagasaki location, all Shatterdomes had the same layout, so it didn’t take her long to find the Kwoon Combat Room. She heard the unmistakable sound of bamboo sticks colliding as two combatants battled in the middle of the mat. Standing in the doorway, she scanned the crowd and measured their chances with a glance. Out of the thirty, she saw no more than a handful who looked like they had potential. Her eyes fell on a recruit who stood off to the side. The only female in the group.

_Not a chance._

“Does anyone want to try? To really try?” Stacker stood over the young man lying on the floor and glanced into the crowd. “You,” he pointed at Jane.

The brunette rolled her eyes, but pushed off the door frame and walked to the mat. Slipping off her sweater, she took the staff from the grateful recruit and stood tall in her black cargo pants and white tank top.

“I’m a little rusty,” she said with a smirk, “so be gentle.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Gentle as an anvil,” he promised. He held her stare for an eternity before saying, “But not today.” He tossed his weapon to the nearest person. “Show me what you’ve got, Clayton.”

A stocky young man stepped forward. “Yes, sir!”

Jane’s eyes narrowed at Stacker. “Coward,” she whispered.

He pretended not to hear. “Let’s remind our new arrival of the rules.”

Raising her hand, she halted the canned response. “I’m rusty, not senile,” she said. “First person to 4 stays on the mat. Loser goes back to the barracks with their tail between their legs, wondering what they’re gonna tell mommy and daddy.” She saw her opponent’s face darken. “Was it the bit about the tail? Or do you not have a mommy and daddy?”

The recruit rushed forward and immediately found himself on his ass, with a triumphant Jane looming over him. He touched his shin where the stick had connected, and winced.

“One,” she announced. “Get up.”

Try as he might, he couldn’t stop her from scoring three more points in quick succession. Two more recruits followed, and she dispatched them just the same. She was beginning to see why Stacker had become so frustrated. Holding out her arms, she shamed the entire group. “Worthless.”

Stacker’s velvet voice called out a name. “Isles.”

The lone female stepped forward. Jane’s gaze went from the petite blonde to Stacker and back again. She opened her mouth to object, but she could only laugh.

“Really?” she asked no one in particular.

Rather than respond, her new opponent tested the weight of the weapon, tucked the end under her arm, and held out her hand in a defensive pose.

Jane raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Let’s see what you’ve-”

The collision of her back and the floor cut her sentence short. She heard titters from the crowd, but her attention was on the woman who came into focus, upside down.

“One,” she announced with a smile. “Get up.”

…

The room was silent except for the soft whisper of their feet along the mat and the hard crack when their weapons met. There was a tension in the air, and the recruits watched on in quiet awe.

After the mocking direction, Jane had stood up with a growl. She trash-talked and ridiculed, but try as she might, she could not put the woman off her game. Her opponent was quick and precise with her movements, and met Jane’s attack with patient defense.

“You look like you’re sweating, Rizzoli,” Stacker laughed.

The marshal’s mirth was mirrored in her opponent’s hazel eyes, and Jane had had enough. In a move that was equal parts frustration and strategy, she stomped her left foot and smirked when the blonde glanced down. Pouncing on the distraction, Jane immediately put the butt end of her weapon under the woman’s chin.

“One-one.”

She stepped back, her face dark with fury. “That’s not fair!”

Jane snorted. “You think the Kaiju play fair? Think they won’t do anything to beat you?”

She swung her stick at the blonde, who blocked it mere inches from her face. Using her height advantage, Jane pushed forward, the weapon moving closer and closer. She clenched her teeth and felt her arms tremble at the effort. The smaller woman shifted her pose, placing her feet shoulder width apart, letting her legs absorb Jane’s force. They were so close, Jane could feel soft breath on her face. She hesitated momentarily when she looked into her eyes and found no challenge. Just warmth and curiosity. A subtle licking of soft lips caught Jane off guard, but luckily, Stacker’s command saved her from potential embarrassment.

“Stop! I don’t have all day to watch you two stubborn mules dance around the room. Recruits!” he shouted at the group. “Piss off. But know I’ll be making cuts tomorrow. Think about what this means for your future.” The crestfallen wannabes filed out and Stacker shook his head. “Rizzoli. Isles. You stay.” The women took an ‘at ease’ position and waited for the marshal to approach.

“I think it’s obvious,” he said. “Jane Rizzoli, meet your new partner.”

…

Extending her hand, the woman turned to Jane. “Maura Isles,” she said, smiling. “I just want you to know it’s an incred-”

Jane brushed past her and stood toe-to-toe with Stacker. “Did I miss the part where I agreed to come back? Because if I said that on the Jumper, I’m pretty sure I was drunk.”

“According to Pan Pacific Defense Corps regulations, you do not have to give consent to be recalled into active duty. It was the right you gave away when you became a Ranger. I can and have compelled you to return to service.”

She blew out a breath and shook her head in disbelief. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Throwing down her weapon, she fumed, “I gave up almost 10 years of my life to ‘service’.” Her tone made a mockery of the word. “Then, when I needed the Corp the most, where were they? Where were you?” she accused, her anger barely hiding the waver in her voice. “I lost my job. I lost my Jaeger. I lost my br-” She clenched her jaw, unable to choke out the word. “And now you want me to come back because I don’t have a choice?” Her laugh held little humour. “Great. Well, I can and have compelled my ass to do sweet fuck all. Come find me when you’ve got a spot on the next Jumper out of this place.”

She left the room without looking back.

…

The knock on her door was steady and insistent. “Go away, Stacks,” Jane called out from her bed.

“It’s not Marshal Pentecost,” a voice replied. “It’s… it’s Maura. Maura Isles.”

She groaned, but got up and stomped to the door. Yanking it open, she barked, “What?”

The blonde pulled back, startled at the response. “I…”

“Spit it out.”

“I… will you at least let me in?”

“Suit yourself,” Jane shrugged, walking back into the room, leaving the door open.

Maura entered and quietly closed the door. Her eyes flitted around the room, absorbing everything, but landing on the disgruntled woman. She opened her mouth to voice an apology, a kind word, but what came out surprised them both.

“Ranger Jane Clementine Rizzoli.” She ignored the grimace. “The first woman to join the Jaeger program. The youngest person to be selected to Drift. Paired with Ranger Vincent Korsak until he retired. Then paired with your brother, Frank. Between the two partners, you are responsible for the highest Kaiju kill rate on record, at eight.”

“Yes,” Jane nodded, her enthusiasm faked and forced. Standing, she began pacing the room, ticking points on her fingers, one by one. “Eight kills. Two partners. Abandoned by the program when I crawled back to the Los Angeles ‘dome with a broken Jaeger and a dead partner. ‘Placed’ at a welding factory in Anchorage. Fucking  _Anchorage_.” She stopped directly in front of Maura. “Fourteen hour days. Five days a week. A single bed and a drinking problem. But enough about me; tell me all about you!” She gave up the pretense and flopped back onto her bed.

The sarcasm was lost on the woman who took a tentative step forward. “Maura Dorthea Isles.” She didn’t notice the brunette’s eye roll. “An only child. Adopted at birth. I lost my parents in the attack on San Francisco.”

This bit of info caught Jane’s attention. “Trespasser?”

“Yes. Trespasser. They thought it was an earthquake, do you remember?” The Ranger nodded. “They soon found out how wrong they were.” She paused at the memory. “I was finishing a forensic pathology degree in Boston. I didn’t hear from my parents after the attack. I didn’t think anything of it. They were like that…we didn’t talk much. I’ve yet to hear from them, so I can only extrapolate…” She inhaled through her nose. “Anyway, I changed my degree to neurobiology and joined the Program.”

Jane shifted on her bed as she feigned disinterest. “You helped with the Pons System.”

“No,” Maura replied. “At least, not in the early stages. Caitlin Lightcap had already tested her theory and ran Brawler Yukon. But I was able to come in fairly early in the development to study the effects of the Neural Handshake on the pilots.”

She folded her arms under her head and looked at the ceiling. “From what I’ve heard, effects of the Neural Handshake wasn’t the problem.”

Twisting the ring on her right hand, Maura conceded the point. “It was the radioactivity in the Mark-1 Jaegers.”

“I was lucky. If you want to put it that way.” She rolled over and propped her head up on her hand. “My Jaeger was a Mark-2. Didn’t have to worry about radiation poisoning.”

“And now, with current upgrades, Solomon’s Fist is Mark-4 compatible.”

Jane’s slowly met her gaze. “How did you-” The rest of Maura’s words sank in and she sat up, abruptly. “Wait. What do you mean ‘Mark-4 compatible’?”

“To answer your first question, I know you piloted Soloman’s Fist because I researched your history when Marshal Pentecost…” She could see Jane had little interest in the rest, so she quickly got to the second question. “Didn’t you know? They’ve salvaged Solomon’s Fist and upgraded him to Mark-4.”

She wanted to believe, but didn’t dare. “How do you know?”

Maura tilted her head. “Ranger Rizzoli, I see him every day.” At Jane’s narrowed gaze, she added, “He’s in the J-Tech Room. He’s the active Jaeger for this Shatterdome.”

…

A/N: I normally put this at the front of the story, but these notes might be a bit long, and I understand that many people just want to get to the fiction! So somehow I got convinced to write my first R&I crossover by my wife/beta reader, who LOVES Pacific Rim. She saw “Pacific Rim” on a plane and told me I had to write this story. These how these fics come about, I swear. She thought I was joking when I said I’d do it. Who’s laughing now? :p As it’s my 25th fic for the fandom, it seems appropriate that such a milestone would be recognized with the kind of fic I never thought I’d write. I’m going to assume most people reading this will be R&I fans, so those of you who don’t know anything about PR, check out pacificrim dot wikia dot com/wiki/Pacific_Rim_Wiki. For those of you who don’t know who R&I are, well… maybe it’s best if you just roll with it!

To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m sold on this story; I think it’s quite rushed, and I wish I had time to really explore the universe. But I can say I feel comfortable enough with it to post, so I hope the reader feels there’s enough here to enjoy.

All characters with first and last names are the property of either Pacific Rim or Rizzoli & Isles, with the exception of Sinji Fox. All references to Jaegers, Kaijus, and anything that sounds like it would be related to Pacific Rim are related to Pacific Rim. The exception would be Solomon’s Fist, Diamond Dog, and Victory Dance, as well as Gargantua. I’ve heard this is the name of something in “Interstellar”, but I assure you, it is actually in reference to my cat.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Again, everything that sounds related to Pacific Rim probably is. The terms and the characters are of that universe; if you’re interested in learning about it, please check out the pacificrim dot wikia dot com/wiki/Pacific_Rim_Wiki. It is a huge universe that expands even beyond the movie.

…

Having worked out of Los Angeles as a pilot, and Anchorage as a welder, she wasn’t unfamiliar with the size and the sounds of a Shatterdome, but seeing it now, as a kind of outsider, magnified everything. It was loud and immense. The J-Tech Room alone, which housed the active and backup Jaegers, covered hundreds of thousands of square footage. Welders, engineers, metallurgists, and scientists worked in teams around the clock, fixing, building, fine-tuning, designing. Forklifts zipped past, carrying who knew what to who knew where. It was a room that never slept. Jane closed her eyes and tried to will her heart to slow down. She leaned against a stack of pallets and took a deep breath.

“Can you do that somewhere else? I gotta-” Barry Frost stopped mid-sentence. “Sorry, Ranger. Didn’t realize it was you.” He gave her a bright smile she couldn’t help but return. “You seen her yet?”

“Her?”

“Yeah. Solomon’s Fist.”

“Him, Frost,” she corrected. “You’re gonna confuse him.”

The young man made a face. “Well, shit. All this time, I’ve been calling her ‘her’. I mean, him ‘her’.”

She laughed at his response. “No, I haven’t seen him.”

His eyes lit up. “C’mon, then. I can tell you all about the modifications we made.”

She followed the eager guide. “You worked on him?”

“Yeah,” he replied, throwing the answer over his shoulder. “I’m a first team welder. Been working since the Corp re-commissioned her. I mean, him.”

“How long has he been here?”

“Just over a year. Flew in from LA when the brains decided to set up a ‘dome in Nagasaki. Guess it was cheaper to upgrade than to build from scratch.”

Jane’s next question didn’t make it past her lips. What she saw stole the breath from her lungs.

“There she is.”

She didn’t even bother to correct him.

“We started by taking out the nuclear core,” he began. “Replaced that with an XIG Supercell Chamber.” He leaned in and whispered, “That shit is in production right now for Mark-5 Jaegers. No other beast is carrying that tech.” He rushed to the base of the 250-foot tall metal monster and pointed at it with excited hands. “Switched out the steel alloys for titanium. Whittled this baby’s weight down from 1700 tonnes to 1580. Lightest Jaeger on the planet. OSIH Achilles shock absorbers come with magnetorheological dampers. Like you’re walking on a cloud!” Frost sat on the base and grinned. “We upgraded the I-19 Plasmacaster to an IB22. Here’s the kicker-” he patted a space beside him and laughed when she rolled her eyes. “Remember how you couldn’t have the fist closed AND use the ‘caster?”

Jane nodded. “The fist had a safety feature that wouldn’t allow the plasma to ignite unless it was open.”

“Right. Because if it ignited when the fist was closed, it would have blown off the entire right arm.” He shook his head. “Not anymore. You still got the double-shielded fist; one fist inside another. But now, when you charge the ‘caster, it runs through a high-density circuit system that will contain the plasma.”

Her eyes narrowed as her brain deciphered the words, and when the meaning became clear, she couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping. “It’s a plasma fist.”

“Yeah it is!” he beamed. “You can still open the fist to release the plasma beam, or you can swing to your heart’s content, and when you connect- BAM!”

“The plasma releases on contact.”

“The impact of the fist and the force of the plasma? Like a hot knife through butter, baby.” He saw her raised eyebrow and coughed. “I mean, Ranger.”

She flexed her hands and stretched back, craning her neck to look up at the machine. Blowing at a loose strand of hair that escaped her ponytail, she felt the familiar flutter in her stomach and the hammering of her heart.

She wondered if Frost could hear it when he asked, “You thinking of giving it another go?”

Licking her lips, she looked into his warm brown eyes. “I don’t know,” she said, surprised she would admit it to someone she barely knew.

He seemed to recognize this, too, because he tried his best to casually say, “I heard you got a new partner.”

“Wow,” she replied with a smirk, “nice to see some things never change. Word still gets around fast.”

Frost shrugged. “It’s big news.” He held out a hand, preventing her protest. “I kinda get where you’re coming from. I’m sorry for putting you on the spot in the cafeteria earlier. I didn’t mean anything by it except my appreciation for who you are and what you’ve done. But I get why that might be a part of your life you’d want to forget. Just know a lot of people haven’t forgotten. And that’s not a bad thing.”

She was quiet for a moment, before finally saying, “I bet that’s your daily quota of words.” She tempered her comment with a smile.

“Yeah, well, you got me pegged there. I am more of the strong, silent type.” He winked. “So if you don’t mind me asking, who’s your new partner?”

“Oh, that part of the story didn’t get out, huh? How much is it worth to you?”

He stood up and bumped shoulders with her. “I’ll give you my pudding at dinner.”

“Please,” she waved away, “I’m a Ranger. I get crème brûlée.” When she saw him pout, she laughed. “Maura Isles.”

His pout quickly turned into a whistle. “Damn, woman! Maura Isles? That is one fine piece of-”

“Hey!” she warned.

“Brain. I was gonna say ‘brain’,” he protested. “Really. I see her in the mission control room all the time, running neural experiments to make sure the pilots are safe. She’s smart.”

“Hmmm,” Jane said. “Apology accepted.”

“I wouldn’t have said anything if I had known she was your boo.”

“My what?”

“You know,” he smiled, “your boo. Your booty.”

“Oh. My. God. I’ve known her for like, three hours, Frost!” She waved her hands in animation. “Hell, I’ve known you longer.”

“Well,” he waggled his eyebrows. “A welder does get lonely…”

“I like you, Frost,” she said. “I want to keep liking you.”

He had the grace to look sheepish. “I got it.” Looking up at the metal beast, he asked, “You gonna go inside?”

She followed his gaze and shook her head. “No, not right now. I haven’t even agreed to come back.”

“You  _are_  coming back, right?”

Sighing, she willed the memories away and felt comfort in the beating of her heart. “Yeah, I’m coming back.”

…..

“Enter!” the Marshal bellowed at the knock on his door. “Ah, Ranger Rizzoli.”

She dispensed with the pleasantries and got right to the point. “Why didn’t you tell me Solomon’s Fist was here?”

His eyes raised from his paperwork. “Would it have made a difference?”

“You know damn well it would have.”

“So noted,” he said. “So to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

Jane shifted back and forth and stared intently at her hands before answering. “I’d like to come back.”

Sitting back in his chair, he clasped his fingers together and pressed them against his chin. “I didn’t realize I gave you an option, Ranger.”

“I didn’t realize you could strap someone down in a chair and make them Drift compatible. Marshal.”

He surprised her by throwing his head back and laughing. “Same old Jane. I like that!” Stacker stood and made his way around his desk. “Have you become acquainted with our dear Dr. Isles?”

“She came to my room.” Seeing the twinkle in the marshal’s eye, she snorted. “Men. You’re all the same. She came to talk.”

“And what do you think of her? Purely professional, of course.”

Her mouth twitched at his feigned innocence. Shrugging, she said, “It wasn’t a long conversation. She seems… smart.”

“One of the brightest I’ve ever met,” he replied, and she was surprised at the praise coming from such a notorious taskmaster. “Top of her field, in every field. Pathology. Biology. Neural chemistry.”

“So what’s held her back?”

He folded his arms across his chest and chuckled. “She’s not so great with people,” he admitted.

“Oh, well, I can see why you’d put her with me, being the social butterfly that I am.”

He ignored her sarcasm. “Truth be told, Ranger, we’ve tried to pair her up on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, her intelligence is her biggest weakness.”

“You can’t find a pilot that balances her brains,” Jane speculated.

He smiled. “You’ve seen the pool from which I have to choose. Mostly hot-heads who feel they have to overcompensate for her tactical mind. Or, they also lean towards the rational approach and get overwhelmed by her intelligence.”

Jane understood the precarious balance needed between two pilots who became one in the Neural Handshake. A tenuous compatibility was required to properly operate the two tonne machines. It was the reason why successful pilots were often friends, family, or lovers. Even now, after her sparring session in the combat room, there was no guarantee their seemingly complementary characteristics would translate when it came to bringing their minds together.

“You’re smart enough to keep your emotions in check,” he told her.

“But not so smart that I don’t let my reckless nature take control,” she finished. She saw him bite the inside of his cheek in amusement. “Right. So what’s her story? I mean, the program is always looking for a big brain to come up with the next big thing. Why has she chosen to become a Ranger?”

“You know I only deal in facts, Jane. I don’t speculate.” When he saw her roll her eyes, he sighed. “My opinion – and only my opinion – is, she’s always been a thinker, never a doer. At least in her self-assessment. And after San Francisco,” he paused to see if she was aware of the reference, “I suspect she was quite afraid of what she thought was standing on the sidelines.”

“You read her psych file.”

He conceded the statement with a shrug. “I may have had a peek, as the Corp allows.”

She gave a short, but heartfelt laugh. “No need to get your panties in a twist, Stacks. We all know you’re the man who knows everything.”

He straightened his shoulders. “Be that as it may, this conversation is between you and me, and I’ll deny it ever took place.”

“Understood.”

Changing the subject, he asked, “How did you find out about Solomon’s Fist?”

“Well, it’s kinda hard to hide a 250-foot robot,” she deadpanned. She waited for Pentecost’s look of disapproval before adding, “Maura told me.”

His eyebrow slowly rose. “‘Maura’, is it?”

“Let it go, old man.”

His chuckle was deep and warm. “I can set up a simulator test after breakfast tomorrow, let’s say 0900. If you’re interested.”

She shook her head at his gall. “You know I am.”

“Good,” he beamed. “Why don’t you track down Maura,” his eyes danced with gentle teasing, “and inform her of the appointment? Perhaps invite her to dinner, so you can get to know each other a bit better.”

“Should I bring some wine, too? Maybe rustle up some flowers?”

He countered her jibe with one of his own. “I’ve been told those things work.”

“You’ve been told,” she repeated with a snort. “Why am I not surprised?” She didn’t wait for an answer, choosing instead to leave the room, ignoring the laughter that followed her out the door.

…..

“Oh,” she said when she saw Maura standing in the doorway. “Did you make other plans?”

The blonde leaned against the frame and shook her head. “No. Why would you think that?”

After her visit with Stacker, Jane went directly to Maura’s room, intent on creating a positive dinner experience. When the blonde opened the door, it was a vision Jane didn’t expect to see. She let her eyes travel from head to toe and back up again, taking in the tailored pants and soft gray sweater that hugged in all the right spots. “Is that cashmere?” The doctor nodded and Jane smiled. “I guess that’s why I would think that.”

Maura looked down at herself. “I see. Based on my attire, you assume that I’m going somewhere that would require such an outfit. I assure you, that is not the case. Often, I simply choose not to wear the standard cargo pants and sweater. It can be incredibly drab.”

Jane’s lips twitched in amusement. “I can assure you it’s okay to speak regular English around me. And, you know,” she held her hands out, gesturing to her own clothing, “thanks.”

Maura tilted her head, then realized how her comment might have been misconstrued. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to imply-” Jane could barely hide her smile. “You’re teasing me.”

“Maybe just a little.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “I’m not very good at reading social cues. I end up saying things that I shouldn’t.”

Jane reached out to briefly touch Maura’s arm. “The only thing I don’t want to hear you say from now on is, ‘I’m sorry’, okay?”

The blonde found comfort in the touch and smiled. “Okay.”

“Great. Since you look like you’re ready to go, I thought I’d take you to dinner.” The words sounded different coming out of her mouth than they did in her head. “I mean, go for dinner. A bite to eat. The cafeteria.”

Maura watched the woman stammer through the invitation, and her smile only grew. “That sounds lovely, Ranger Rizzoli.”

Jane wrinkled her nose. “Too many ‘R’s there,” she said. “Maybe you could just call me ‘Jane’.”

“‘Jane’,” she repeated, as if tasting the word. “Yes, that’s much more pleasant,” she agreed, oblivious to the flush that crept onto the brunette’s cheeks. “But only if you call me ‘Maura’.”

“It’s a deal. Maura.” She stepped aside and gestured to the hallway. “Let’s go; I’ve been craving crème brûlée all day.”

…

The cafeteria was one of over 500 scattered throughout the ‘dome that served the 4 million inhabitants – workers, officers, Rangers, and civilians alike. None were ever empty, so it was no surprise to Jane that the huge room was bustling with chatter and noise.

“You don’t eat in the PPDC area,” Maura noted as the Ranger led her to a nearby table.

Though she’d yet to see it, she knew there would be a separate dining room for Rangers and their technical staff. Each ‘dome had one to insure that the real celebrities of the Kaiju War were recognized and treated accordingly. It was a distinction of class that never sat right with Jane.

“I draw the line at taking advantage of the dessert perks,” she said. Making sure Maura was seated, she asked, “Any special dietary restrictions?”

The doctor shook her head. “As long as it’s not red meat.” She lowered her voice, drawing the brunette in. “This is my favourite cafeteria. If Edward is serving tonight, could you please ask him to sneak me a glass of wine?”

Jane pursed her lips. “Anything else, Miss Isles?”

“No, thank you.”

Jane grinned at the seriousness in her voice and made her way to the counter.

It didn’t take long for the whispers to begin, though Jane chose to ignore them. Her initial meeting with Frost was just the first reminder of the status her name held, and she knew how word travelled. She pretended not to notice the hushed tones and sly finger-pointing.

“Name?” asked the gravelly voice behind the counter.

Considering the low rumble of gossip her mere presence had created, she almost laughed at the question. “Ranger Jane Rizzoli.”

The grey-haired man with the military cut and startling blue eyes paused only briefly, before continuing, “Ranger. Could I interest you in a wonderful chicken primavera?”

She immediately liked the man. “Yes, you could. Edward?” she ventured.

His bushy brows furrowed. “Yes.” The answer sounded more like a question.

“I hear you might know a certain Maura Isles.”

His face brightened at the name. “I certainly do.”

“Great,” she replied. “Maybe you can help me.”

…

She swaggered back to the table, tray laden with food and drink. Carefully putting it down, she pulled out her chair and pretended not to notice Maura’s shocked expression.

“That’s an entire bottle of wine!” she exclaimed.

“Edward said you liked Pinot Noir, and he told me it goes best with the blackened salmon. I’m trusting his judgment.”

“Jane,” she said in quiet delight. “Blackened salmon. How did you-”

She shrugged. “I told him you were practically a Ranger, so what was the harm in fast-tracking your menu? And,” she leaned forward conspiratorially, “I think Edward has a crush on you.”

Maura blushed. “He’s a very sweet man.”

“And you’re a very sweet woman.”

The blush deepened to a scarlet red. In an attempt to change the subject, Maura gestured to Jane’s meal. “Pinot Noir doesn’t go with chicken.”

The brunette leaned back and reached into her cargo pocket. “No, but this does.” She placed the beer bottle beside her plate and twisted the cap. Maura was about to comment on the beverage choice when a couple approached the table.

“Hey, are you Jane Rizzoli?” the young man asked.

Jane put down her fork and glanced down before turning her head to the pair. “Yep.”

“I told you!” he said to the female at his side. “I was wondering if you wanted to come to a party later on the fifth level. Some music, some beer, maybe some… other stuff,” he winked. “You can come as my guest.”

No one was more surprised than Jane when Maura spoke up. “Your guest?” she said indignantly. “Do you know who she is?”

He looked at Maura as if seeing her for the first time. “She’s Ranger Jane Rizzoli. Co-pilot of Solomon’s Fist. Who the fuck are you?”

“She’s the reason you’re not going to be able to walk for a week if you keep talking to her like that,” Jane quietly warned.

“And you can’t talk to my boyfriend like that!” the girl said.

Slowly standing, she pulled herself up to her full height, and looked lazily at the girl, then the boyfriend, and back again. “Can’t I?”

“C’mon, Cheryl,” he said, taking her arm. “Let’s go.” The couple were just within shouting distance when he yelled back, “Fuckin’ bitch!”

“Oh, I’ll never recover from that,” she drawled and dropped back into her chair. She began eating, but noticed Maura wasn’t doing the same. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

Jane closed her eyes and savoured the creamy sauce. “This is good.” Taking a sip of her beer, she held the blonde’s gaze for several seconds. “First, what did I say about apologizing?” Maura conceded the reminder with a tilt of her head. “Second, that’s what partners do.” She winked as she watched a look of amazement spread across the woman’s face.

“Partners?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Jane asked with an air of innocence. “Stacker – sorry, Marshal Pentecost – is going to set up a simulation tomorrow after breakfast. How many have you done?”

It took Maura a moment to tamp down her excitement and return to the conversation. “Fifty-three,” she replied, “with forty-one kills.”

Jane took another pull from her beer and narrowed her eyes. “What was the problem in the 12 defeats?”

Maura looked away. “I was paired with someone.”

“Ah,” she nodded. “So you could do the solo simulations, no problem.”

“Perfectly.”

“But you couldn’t find someone Drift compatible.”

“It’s been… difficult.”

Jane kept Stacker’s information to herself. “You know, Hydra Corinthian is the only Jaeger to be piloted by two women.”

“Kennedy LaRue and Stephanie Lanphier,” Maura said.

“How many kills between them?”

Maura glanced to the side, as if accessing the information. “None, as far as I know.”

“That’s because they’re sprawled out on the beaches of Panama!” They laughed at the idea. “You’ll do great tomorrow,” Jane said with a warm smile. “We’ll both do great.”

“Ranger Rizzoli! Can I get your autograph for my daughter?” A man wildly rushed up to the table. “She’ll never believe I met you! You’re her biggest hero.”

Jane glanced down at the paper pushed under her nose. Reluctantly, she took the pen and scrawled her name. “Her father should be her biggest hero.” The words were lost on the man as he thanked her profusely and left as quickly as he arrived. The brunette pasted on a smile and looked across the table. “Just think – when you become a pilot, you’ll get fans like that!”

Maura’s eyes softened. “Jaeger Fly.”

Between her expression and her words, Jane felt a weight lift from her shoulders and she chuckled. “How do you know that term?”

“Fifty-three simulations,” Maura reminded her. “I may have not made Ranger yet, but I’ve been around long enough to know the terminology, both technical and… colloquial. I must admit, I prefer it to ‘Ranger groupie’.”

Something about the complete seriousness of Maura’s admission made Jane’s chuckle grow into a full-born laugh. Before they knew it, they were both gasping for breath and wiping tears from their cheeks.

“My stomach! Ow!” Jane protested, which only got them laughing again.

“Stop!” Maura begged.

At last, the ripples of mirth faded away, and the two women collapsed back in their seats. Out of the corner of her eye, Maura spotted someone tentatively approaching, and before an overture could be made, she stood and grabbed the bottle of wine and her glass. “Come with me,” she directed. “I have something I’d like to show you.”

…..


	3. Chapter 3

…..

“I think I figured out where the Mafia hid Jimmy Hoffa’s body,” Jane quipped to the woman who was leading her through a maze of corridors and stairwells. Maura turned and smiled, but kept going. “Should I have left bread crumbs?”

“It’s not really that complicated once you know your way,” Maura said. She stopped in the middle of the hall and reacquainted the brunette with her surroundings. “We are three levels above the combat room and five sections east. How are you with spatial relations?”

“Distant cousins,” she replied.

Maura slapped her arm. “You are in the 99th percentile of all pilots for your visual and tactile recognition.”

“If you knew, why did you ask?”

The blonde shrugged. “I suppose I’d like to think you would reveal things of your own accord. And,” she smiled, “I wouldn’t want you to think I was a Jaeger Fly.”

The image of Maura being a groupie made Jane laugh out loud. “I can’t imagine you’d ever have to wait for someone to notice you.”

The compliment made the woman blush. Hastily deflecting, she pointed to a door at the end of the passageway. “We’re almost there.”

What Jane thought was the door to a room ended up leading to the janitor’s closet. She picked up a mop and glanced around. “Oooh, I love what you’ve done to the place.”

“You’re not funny, you know,” Maura noted, though her smile said otherwise.

Pulling out an old wooden crate, she flipped it upside down and stood on it. Jane hadn’t noticed the hatch in the ceiling until she looked up and saw Maura reach for a small ring. She put her hands on the woman’s waist and pretended it was necessary. She must have held on longer than needed, because she caught a look of… something, in hazel eyes.

“Sorry, just didn’t want to have to explain to Stacker why my new partner has a broken something,” Jane said, trying to explain away the action.

Maura’s mouth opened slightly, holding the moment before letting out a soft breath. Rather than comment directly, she said, “I need to step down to let the ladder drop.”

“Right.” Jane let go and stepped to the side. It was a tight fit in the small room, and she struggled not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. She saw Maura’s questioning look and shook her head. “I was just thinking. If someone had told me yesterday I’d be in a closet, in Nagasaki, in a compromising position with a woman, I would’ve thought they were crazy.”

“Which part do you consider crazy? Or is it a combination of all three?”

There seemed to be an element of probing to the question, as if she was innocently testing the water. Pretending to give it some thought, Jane scratched the side of her nose and rocked back slightly on her heels.

“Probably the closet part,” she slyly replied, the look in her eye telling Maura she was well aware of the fishing expedition. Before the blonde could reply, Jane craned her neck to look up the ladder. “So where does the beanstalk go, Jack? And is that wardrobe climbing material?”

Maura glanced down at her clothes. “Oh, these are fine. I’ve done this many times, and we don’t have much farther to go.”

“Good,” Jane said, patting the side pocket of her pants. “The wine’s gonna be less than ‘chilled’ pretty soon.”

“I normally take a bag,” she said by way of apology. “I admit, this is quite spur-of-the-moment.” Maura grabbed the rungs and began to climb.

“Then let’s get at it,” Jane said, tapping her lightly on the hip. “I’m gonna need a drink after all this climbing.”

Maura was true to her word. Once they reached the top, she had Jane pull it up and close the hatch. A narrow catwalk branched out from the ladder and seemed to go on forever. Maura pointed about 20 feet away.

“Just to the two girders there,” she directed, but Jane’s attention was elsewhere.

“Holy crap,” she whispered. From the walkway she could look down into the dome, but the height made those below look like ants.

A thought occurred to Maura. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”

Jane’s gaze was transfixed. “What?” Finally turning to the blonde, she said, “No. No, not at all.”

There was something in the tone that made Maura doubt the sincerity of the answer. “Jane! You pilot machines that are over 200 feet tall!”

“Yeah,” she drew out, “but I’m in them. Not hanging outside.”

Maura gently touched her arm. “The best course of action is to not look down.”

Jane nodded, and found not that looking down gave her reason to look around. The catwalk appeared to run around the entirety of the dome, though the curve of the roof didn’t allow it to line up flush with the walls. Instead, beams that seemed to jut out from the steel panels were riveted to iron girders that ran diagonally into the roof. Structurally, it was an intricate maze of iron and steel that she’d never considered.

“This is amazing.”

Maura, who had yet to relinquish her hold, tugged her a few more feet before announcing their arrival. “Here.”

‘Here’ was a space between beams that was accessible from the catwalk with an easy stride.

“They only have the safety rail on one side,” Maura pointed out. “I suppose they assume no one can fall between the walkway and the wall.”

Jane risked a quick glance down and was glad to see the assumptions were correct; the gap was no more than a foot. She followed Maura through and abruptly stopped.

“What…?” was all she could muster.

Because the exterior is circular, but the interior structure is made up of 90 degree angles, the construction created pockets that go around the entire dome,” Maura explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah, but…” Jane stammered. “I mean, this is incredible.” She looked around the enclosure and smiled. Though no more than 5 feet deep and 8 feet long, there was a thin mattress on the floor, along with two pillows. A crate was jammed into the corner and held a small lamp and a book. The drab iron wall was painted a moss green, with small white flowers drawn in even rows. “It’s like a fort!”

Maura frowned. “A fort? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You don’t know what a fort is? Didn’t you ever make a place out of cardboard boxes or pieces of wood and it was like, your place? No one else’s? A place where you could go if you wanted to get away from your brothers or your nagging mother?” She remembered their earlier conversation and mentally kicked herself. “I mean, just a place to get away?”

“If that’s your definition, I suppose that’s what this is. A ‘fort’.” Maura smiled at the word. “Please, sit down. I apologize for not having something more comfortable.”

Jane flopped down and crossed her legs at the ankle. “You know, ‘I apologize’ is just another way of saying ‘I’m sorry’.” She pulled out the wine and two plastic cups. Maura conceded the point with a small nod of her head. “So how did you find this place?”

The blonde sat down beside her and reached for the cup. “A friend found it, actually.”

“Oh, a ‘friend’,” Jane repeated.

Maura swatted her knee. “She was seven, Jane!” Taking a sip, she continued, “She was a brilliant girl; she had her sights set on becoming a biologist, to study the Kaiju. I shouldn’t say ‘had’,” she clarified. “Her parents moved her to Tokyo to study with some of the finest scientific minds in the world.”

“You two met through the Program?”

Maura nodded and smiled at the memory. “She was only five and was already smarter than almost everyone I knew.”

Jane took a sip of her wine. “What was her name?”

“‘Hotaru’,” she answered. “It means ‘firefly’ or ‘lightning bug’. Her father told me it was because the minute she was born, she lit up the room.”

“I bet she hovered around you like a moth to a flame.”

Maura tried to deflect the compliment with a shrug. “I’m not very good with people. Neither was she. For different reasons, of course. I was just never good at it, and she was so young.”

“And so smart,” Jane added.

“Yes,” she nodded. “Her intelligence made people think they couldn’t relate to her. But deep down, she was still just a little girl.”

“Who wanted to sneak away and find a fort.”

Maura laughed. “I suppose so. The first time she showed me this place, I was afraid. Afraid I’d led her astray, afraid her parents would find out and be upset, afraid someone from the Program would find out and consider me irresponsible.”

Jane peeked through the girders. “But not afraid of falling.”

“Oh, no,” Maura replied, “the first thing I did was check the designs and the structural integrity!”

“Of course you did,” Jane smiled.

“If anything, they’ve overcompensated,” Maura told her. “No, I was afraid…”

“They’d take your friend away.”

She pressed her lips together. “Silly, isn’t it?”

“Why ‘silly’?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Seeing Jane’s encouraging look, she amended her comment. “Silly because I’m in my 30′s and she was just a child. And I called it a friendship.”

“It wasn’t the age that you had in common, Maura,” the Ranger said. “It was your intelligence. And the fact that you were both smarter than everyone in the room combined. And that, deep down, you two were probably very lonely.” When Maura turned away, Jane touched her shoulder. “Hey. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that except to show you I understand.”

Discreetly brushing away a tear, Maura looked back. “If I can’t say ‘I’m sorry’, neither can you.”

Jane saw the briefest of smiles tug at her mouth and smiled in return. “So I guess the two of you decorated?”

Maura glanced around. “We brought everything up, yes. It took several trips. But she painted.”

The brunette reached out and touched one of the painted flowers. “They’re beautiful. She’s very talented.”

“Yes, she is.” They were quiet for a moment, taking in the wine and the company. In the small space, they were forced to sit side-by-side, but neither felt awkward in the close quarters. Jane leaned her head back and gave a peaceful sigh. “Can I ask you a question?” Maura said, breaking the silence.

Jane smirked, but didn’t open her eyes. “I bet you can.”

She either chose to ignore or was oblivious to the sarcasm.”What made you change your mind? About piloting again, I mean?” She watched as a deep line formed between Jane’s eyebrows, but she plunged forward. “It just seems you were so adamant this morning about not re-joining.”

Jane shrugged and bought some time by taking another drink. “I guess seeing Solomon’s Fist had a lot to do with it.”

“You couldn’t imagine anyone else piloting him.”

“No, I couldn’t.”

Maura chose her words carefully. “You don’t think you would have felt the same way if it had been any other Jaeger?”

Jane turned and looked at her through narrowed eyes. “What do you mean?”

She shifted uncomfortably under the penetrating gaze. “I just mean… how do you like being a welder?”

“Ah,” Jane smiled with little humour. “I guess you’re right; being a pilot is who I am. It’s like it’s all I’ve ever known.”

“You say that as if it’s a weakness.” Maura shook her head ruefully. “To have that confidence and that measure of strength… I’ve spent my entire life trying to figure out where I’m meant to be. But you know!” Her eyes widened in disbelief. “You found a way to channel your strength and become this amazing person. Don’t roll your eyes.” Jane snorted. “You protect people. And you’re damn good at it. Some might say the best.” She looked down at her hands. “Don’t say it as if it’s a bad thing.”

The heat crept into Jane’s cheeks. “I… wow.” She blew a tendril of hair from her face. “I don’t take praise well,” she said, hoping to convey all her thoughts into the one sentence.

“You need immersion therapy!” Maura beamed.

“Say again?”

“You need someone to tell you every day what a great person you are.”

“Oh, God,” Jane groaned.

“I’ll make sure to get Marshal Pentecost on board.” Maura’s eyes twinkled in mirth and she playfully slapped Jane’s arm when the brunette groaned again.

“How about I nominate you my number one – and only – fan?”

Maura pretended to ruminate over the proposal before extending her hand. “Deal.”

“Great.” Jane poured them another glass of wine and finished off the bottle. “Now, let’s go over what to expect tomorrow.”

…

The review was really a formality, as Maura had done the Drift simulation a dozen times in the past. But Jane was one to cover all her bases, and she wanted to get a feel for Maura’s approach and expectations. The blonde seemed practical and forthcoming, and it gave Jane a boost of confidence.

“Have you ever tried to Drift with a woman?” Maura asked.

“No. You?” When she shook her head, Jane raised an eyebrow. “Twelve paired simulations, and they never thought to put you with a woman?”

“There’s never been a woman in the Ranger program to put me with,” Maura said. “You saw the group today: 3 dozen recruits and I was the only female.”

Jane sighed. “Not much has changed since I joined up.”

“Actually,” Maura informed her, “registration for women went up 188% in the years you were an active Ranger. Out of the 9 Shatterdomes, 3 have at least one female pilot, 4 if you include Nagasaki.” Jane smiled at the confident presumption. “And I’ve heard Vladivostok will be promoting two women to pilot Nova Hyperion.”

“South Korea’s gonna have an all-girl team, huh?”

Maura nodded. “So it’s not that women don’t apply, or can’t handle the regiment. It might simply be a case of Nagasaki not needing the pilots.”

Jane frowned. “But they built this 4 years ago. They haven’t had a team in residence in all that time?”

“They haven’t needed one. This quadrant hasn’t had a single attack since the Kaiju War began.”

“But something must be changing,” Jane noted. “There’s no way Stacks would drag his ass to Alaska just to bring me back for practice.”

“They didn’t start the repairs on Solomon’s Fist until last year, so you may be on to something.”

“Wait,” Jane said. “If you wanted to be a Ranger, why did you come here for training, when there was no active Jaeger? I mean, the way you talked about Hotaru, you’ve been here for at least two years, right?”

“Almost four, yes.”

“You’re from San Fran. Why not go to LA? Or even Panama. Why come clear across the world?”

Maura leaned back against the wall and sighed. “I had to leave California,” she confessed. “I told you my relationship with my parents was distant, but I knew,  _I knew_ , they were dead. And I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have anyone in my life to say, ‘Don’t worry; you’re not alone.’ Everywhere I looked, I was reminded of it. I thought coming here, immersing myself in a new culture, with new expectations, would help me start again.”

“Has it?” Jane quietly asked.

She inhaled deeply. “To some degree, yes, I think it has.” Jane reached over and held her hand. “And when I heard they were recommissioning Solomon’s Fist, I suspected Marshal Pentecost would convince you to come back.”

“Convince me,” Jane smiled. “That’s one way to put it. Wait. Part of the reason you came here was because you thought I’d be here?” Her smile grew into a genuine laugh. “You  _are_  a Jaeger Fly!”

Maura joined in. “You caught me.”

“You didn’t though, did you?”

Now the boisterous laugh belonged to Maura. “No! I was here shortly after this ‘dome was built. They brought your Jaeger over two years later. Unless…would it make you feel better if I said you were the reason I chose Nagasaki? A bit of your immersion therapy?”

“Well,” Jane replied, facetiously considering the question, “it might make me feel better for coming back.”

“Oh, Ranger Rizzoli,” Maura said, fluttering her eyes. She didn’t get to finish her sentence before the brunette made a gagging noise.

“Stop. Just stop.” She glanced sideways to make sure Maura was in on the joke. When the laughter gently dissipated into silence, Jane closed her eyes again. “This is nice,” she said.

Maura took in the relaxed expression. Hard angles seemed to soften, and there was an air of peacefulness about her. “Can you hear that humming?” she asked quietly.

Jane cocked her head to the side. “Yeah. It’s like a quiet droning.”

“Hotaru called it the ‘dome’s heartbeat. It’s really the generator that keeps everything going. Acoustically, this is the optimal place to set up a ‘fort’,” she said, pleased that the word drew out a lazy smile from the brunette. “Not so close that it’s overwhelming, but not so far that one can’t appreciate the lulling nature of the sound. It reminds me of the laundry room in my family home.”

Cracking open an eye in her direction, Jane asked, “I had to do a lot of laundry as a kid, too. Ma told me chores would help develop my character. I think it just helped me develop a dislike for laundry.”

“What? Oh, no. We had people do those kinds of things for us.”

“I beg your pardon, Princess.”

Maura bumped her shoulder. “What I meant to say was, it reminds me of the dryer; that constant humming. Sometimes, if I had a bad dream, I’d go down to the laundry room and turn it on. I had a little stool I would drag over. It was just high enough for me to rest my head on top and feel the steady vibrations. The housekeeper would find me in the morning. ‘Miss Isles, you are doing nothing but vexing me and ruining your posture!’” Maura smiled at the memory.

Jane squeezed the hand that was still in hers, and let the sounds and feelings wash over her. “I will never be able to look at a ‘dome again without thinking of it as a gigantic dryer.”

…..


	4. Chapter 4

Despite the slight headache left over from the wine, Jane slept through the night for the first time in years. With a satisfying stretch, she cracked her back and yawned, before swinging out her legs and standing. She padded her way to the bathroom, did her business, and splashed some cold water on her face. Dark eyes peered back from the mirror as she brushed her teeth.  _Today’s the day, Rizzoli,_  she told herself.  _You can fuck this up on purpose and head back to Alaska. Or you can do the only thing you’ve ever known how to do_.

‘ _Don’t say it as if it’s a bad thing.’_

Maura’s voice was so clear in her head that Jane pulled back and laughed. “Great, I’m getting pep talks from my number one fan even when she’s not around.”

She pulled on cargo pants and threw a black Henley over a white tank top. Worn leather boots were laced up and she found a hair tie to pull back her dark mane. With one last look at her reflection, she took a deep breath and closed the door behind her.

…..

…..

Although she took a detour to the infirmary along the way, she still made it to the cafeteria in plenty of time. Loading up her tray with pancakes and bacon and a steaming cup of coffee, she found a seat near the back, facing the entrance. She dry-swallowed the aspirin and was just about to dig into breakfast when she caught a glimpse of a familiar face.

“Frost!” she shouted.

The young man turned his head at the voice and acknowledged the invitation with a tilt of his chin. The line was short, so it didn’t take long for him to join her at the table. He set his tray down with a satisfying sigh.

“Sweet-talked the server, I see,” Jane said by way of a greeting.

“What do you mean?”

She pointed at his plate with her fork. “Steak, Frost? That’s Ranger menu.”

Despite his dark skin, the pink in his cheeks was evident. “Well, you know…” When her expression didn’t change, he quickly added, “I don’t mean anything by it. I’m not thumbing my nose or anything.”

“You just like steak,” Jane said, letting him off the hook.

“Yeah, exactly!” he replied. “I just like steak.”

“And she just likes you.”

His eyes glanced over to the counter and he smiled. “Yeah.”

“I knew I was right to call you ‘Romeo’ the first time I saw you.”

His shrug was exaggerated. “What can I say?” He expected a sarcastic reply, and when none came, he followed her gaze over his shoulder. “Ah,” he smirked. “I wonder what the female version of ‘Romeo’ is?”

She kicked him under the table. “Whatever,” she retorted, all the while trying to rein in the smile that threatened to take over her face. She pushed out a chair in anticipation of Maura’s arrival.

“Good morning!” the blonde greeted as she approached the table. Gently putting her tray down, she sat and inched the chair closer to the table.

“Maura, this is Barry Frost. He’s a first team welder on Solomon’s Fist. Frost, this is Maura Isles. She’s on her way to becoming a Ranger. We’ve got a simulation test later to see if she’s crazy enough.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Frost,” Maura said, and extended her hand.

He returned the gesture. “Please, call me ‘Barry’. And it’s lovely to meet you, too. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Maura frowned in curiosity. “Have you?”

“Yeah. I was in the Ranger program for a short time, but I know about all the improvements you made to the Pons System. It’s never been safer for pilots than it is now, thanks to you.”

“Well…” she stammered. “Thank you.”

Jane leaned towards her and said, “Looks like I’m not the only one who needs immersion therapy.”

Maura glanced down at Jane’s plate. In an effort to change the subject, she said, “What you need is fruit. What in the world are you eating?”

Jane smirked at the diversion, but let it slide. “This,” she pointed to her meal, “is the breakfast of champions. His is a pretty close second.” She winked at Frost.

“It’s the breakfast of high cholesterol and clogged arteries,” Maura said, and began to push some of her fruit onto Jane’s plate. “And if you’re going to be responsible for the maintenance of Solomon’s Fist,” she turned to Frost, “you should start eating better, too.” She punctuated her command by giving him some fruit as well.

“I have orange juice,” he feebly protested.

“Which is just one step above nothing,” she said. “I’ll expect better tomorrow. From both of you.”

“Yes, Mom,” Jane and Frost said in unison, and they all laughed.

“So what’s this about a simulation test?” he asked the two women.

Jane popped a grape into her mouth. “Yeah. We’re gonna see if we’re compatible.”

Frost smirked. “Oh, I think I can tell you the answer to that one.” He moved his leg just in time to avoid another kick. “Ha!”

Maura looked from Frost to Jane. “I’ve come into the conversation late, haven’t I?”

“No,” Jane assured her, “Frost is just being a funny guy. How do you feel this morning?”

“I slept wonderfully and got up early enough to do a yoga session. I feel good. I’m ready.”

Frost smiled at her eagerness. “Seriously, how do you guys think you’ll do? How did the combat test go?”

“Like two mules with a line of rope between their teeth, according to Stacks,” Jane said. “Which I think was his way of handing out a compliment.”

“We  _were_  quite in sync with each other,” Maura clarified.

“Who won?”

“I was just about to go in for the kill when the marshal stepped in,” Jane claimed.

Maura’s mouth dropped. “Not true! First of all, in your pursuit of forcing me to the ground, you left your stance wide open. I was going to capitalize on this when Marshal Pentecost stopped us. Second, at that stage, we were tied 1-1, so regardless of the outcome, neither of us would have reached 4 points.”

Jane held up a hand to the side of her mouth and stage-whispered to Frost, “I was taking it easy on her. Ow!”

“That one was on your behalf, Doctor Isles,” Frost said, grinning as Jane rubbed her shin.

“Thank you, Barry,” she replied, “but please, just call me ‘Maura’.”

“Or you can call her ‘Ranger Isles’ after today,” Jane said, still grimacing.

Frost downed his orange juice. “You think it’ll go that well? I mean, no offense,” he said, pointing at Jane. “But this one’s been out of the game for three years.”

“There will be obstacles,” Maura agreed. “I’ve failed 12 times with other partners. There is no guarantee.”

Jane sopped up the remaining pool of syrup with her pancake, ignoring Maura’s look of disdain. “I’ll be the lucky number 13. Or the Baker’s Dozen. Whichever.” She sat back and patted her stomach. “That was amazing.”

“That was a car accident from which I couldn’t look away,” Maura said.

The brunette smiled and wiped her mouth. “You ready to go?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, as the expression goes,” she answered. Standing, she looked at Frost. “It was very nice to meet you, Barry. I hope to see more of you and less of steak in the future.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he contritely replied.

The women collected their trays and as they walked away, Jane turned to look at Frost. “ _Ma’am_ ,” she mouthed with a teasing grin.

He gave an embarrassed shrug, but was gracious enough to call out, “Good luck!”

…..

“Well, well, well,” Stacker greeted. “Look at my two early birds. You ladies eager to get started?”

They entered the command center and took a place to the left of the door. “It’s never too early to kick some ass, Marshal,” Jane said.

An older man with jet black hair and eyes to match swiveled in his chair and quickly catalogued the two women. “Even if it is simulated ass, Ranger?”

“This conversation is going to become a bunch of horrible double entendres very quickly,” Jane warned. She waited for Pentecost to make the introductions.

Stacker tipped his head at the cue. “Ranger Jane Rizzoli, Doctor Maura Isles, please meet your J-Tech Chief, Sinji Fox.”

“Welcome, ladies,” he said and shook their hands. “Ranger Rizzoli, I’ve heard so much about you.” The brunette shot a glare at Pentecost. “And Dr. Isles, we’ve been here before.”

“We have. All 53 missions.”

He bowed his head. “Some more successful than others.”

“Yeah, well,” Jane said, “Fifty-fourth time’s the charm.”

“You seem confident, Ranger,” Stacker commented. “You’ve been out of the loop for a few years. Things change.”

Jane agreed. “They do. But not this.”

Stacker acknowledged the confidence with a slight nod of his head. “And how about you, Doctor? Nervous?”

She fidgeted with a ring on her right hand, but tried to show as much composure as the woman by her side. “Perhaps a bit more than usual,” she admitted. “However, I’m hoping to use that to my advantage.”

“You’ve got one of the best Rangers in the Academy with you,” he reminded her gently. “Just do the best you can.”

“It will be a standard simulation,” Fox told them in his efficient diction. “Category II Kaiju to start; you should be familiar with that level, Ranger. If you get past that and can do it before the two hour time limit is up, we’ll move you up to Category III. No need to get fancy; as you are aware, we only want to see if the two of you can drift together. Are there any questions?”

Jane looked at Maura, who shook her head. “Sounds pretty straight forward. I’ve heard there have been some upgrades to Solomon.”

Stacker’s eyes widened. “How did you-”

His question was stopped by her laugh. “Please. We all know the best way to find out secrets is to sit in the cafeteria for an hour.”

“Yes, it’s true,” Fox replied. “The part about the upgrades, I mean. I’m unaware of the validity of your second statement.” They smiled at each other. “I won’t bore you by repeating what you seem to already know. Why don’t you find out first hand?”

“I’m definitely ready.”

“Me, too,” Maura said.

“All right then. You know the drill. Get yourselves to the Drivesuit room and get suited up. Once you’re in the ConnPod, Mr. Fox will walk you through the rest. Good luck, ladies.”

…..

“Maybe you’re right about those pancakes, Maura,” Jane admitted, glancing down at her body in the skintight circuitry suit. “Holy crap, this is tighter than I remembered.” She looked up at the blonde. “On the other hand, you look amazing.” A snort by one of the technicians died a quick death when Jane pinned him with a look.

“They are pretty snug, aren’t they?” Maura agreed.

“Love the black suits though,” Jane whistled as the techs helped them into the battle armour. “We had white ones in LA. Always made my ass look fat.”

Although it was a process that was required to be completed in 7 minutes in times of attack, the techs were given a bit of leeway in light of it being a simulation. Battle armour over a circuitry suit, followed by the addition of heavy Drivesuit boots that would lock into their Jaeger control seats, topped off with a state-of-the-art helmet and visor. The pair thudded loudly into the Conn-Pod and stepped into their vertical stations. Their boots clicked in place, and at last, their Spinal Clamp was applied.

Jane wiggled. “I forgot how much that tickles.”

Maura turned her head and smiled. “I always feel that, too.”

“It’s the electrical current that sends your movements to the Jaeger,” one tech helpfully supplied.

“Yeah, I’ve been to this rodeo a few times. Thanks,” Jane said. Jobs completed, the techs left the pod, leaving the women alone. “Any last minute worries? Anything we need to talk about?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Maura answered. “Though I will say, it amuses me that you would automatically choose the right side. I shouldn’t be surprised – it’s the dominant side.”

Jane looked around, realizing it for the first time. “I didn’t even… do you normally take the right?”

Maura shook her head. “They’ve tried me on both sides; I don’t seem to have a preference.”

“Okay. It’s just the side I always took when I piloted with-” She stopped herself short.

“It doesn’t bother me,” the blonde soothed. “Besides, you have much more real experience than I do. You should be in the dominant position.”

Jane was thankful for the silent compassion. “I know you’ve done this before,” she began, “but humour me; it’s been a while since I’ve been here, so these reminders are just as much for me as they are for you. Probably more. I guess the most important thing to remember is, don’t fight the Drift. Let the images and feelings flow past you. It’s weird at first, stepping into someone’s head, knowing they’re doing the same to yours, but if we’re compatible and we let it happen, it should be a piece of cake. What else?”

“Don’t chase the rabbit,” Maura replied. “Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers.”

The brunette smiled. “Which is why we shortened it to ‘rabbit’. Clear your thoughts. Don’t latch on to a particular memory. If you do, it fucks up the Drift and sends jumbled signals to the Jaeger.” Maura nodded her understanding. “If we get good enough, we’ll eventually be able to communicate to each other in our heads. But I still like to say what I’m going to do, more for the guys in the Comm Room than anything else. But that’s up to you.”

“Okay.”

“This may be the last time you’ll ever have your own thoughts. Do you want to take a minute to savour not having a loud, pushy Italian moving things around?”

“I think I’m fine.”

“Any thoughts you might want to get out in the open now, before I trip over them? Embarrassing limericks you’ve secretly written about the marshal?”

Pentecost’s voice came through their helmets. “As much as I’d like to know the answer to this one myself, let’s get started, shall we?”

“There’s nothing new, Jane,” the gentle voice of the comm chief said. “Just better technology and a more responsive system. Of course, the Jaeger has been disconnected, so you won’t be throwing that fist around. But it will feel real, so don’t be afraid to let it go. Without further adieu, Drift simulation attempt in three… two… one…”

…..

She was often asked, “What does it feel like?” ‘It’ being the Drift, the Neural Handshake, the ‘creepin’ inside someone else’s head’. The best comparison she could ever come up with was a walk in the rain.  _Imagine you’re on your way home_ , she’d tell them.  _And halfway there, the skies open up and it starts to rain. When those first raindrops hit you, you think, ‘Shit.’ It doesn’t hurt, but it’s a weird feeling you’re not used to. You hunch up your shoulders and try to avoid getting wet. But you can’t, and it doesn’t matter anyway; it’s a warm rain and you’re on your way home and you’re actually starting to enjoy it._ It was the best comparison she could come up with; she never said it was a good one.

Fortunately, she’d always had good partners. Vince Korsak, though 20 years her senior, came into the Program the same time she did. He said he wanted to do one more good thing before they put him out to pasture, and his army experience got him a place ahead of younger men. Whatever he lacked in youth, he made up for in ability. And what she lacked in experience, she made up for in natural talent. Together, their Drift was seamless. They were together for over two years until he tried to break up a bar fight and took a blow to the head that caused black spots in his memories. Without those neural channels, he couldn’t Drift. It was the death knell for his career as a Ranger.

And of course, she had no problem Drifting with her brother. Stacks always called them the Late Twins for their eerie synchronicity but five year age gap. Even before the Drift, they were always on the same wavelength. Frankie looked up to his older sister, and like a sponge, absorbed everything she said and did. Joining them in a Neural Handshake only made sharing their thoughts literal, instead of just figurative.

Now this. Doctor Maura Isles, a woman she had known for less than 48 hours, was delicately tip-toeing into her head and… it felt good.  _Like rain on the brain_. She chuckled and let her mind relax.

….

“Neural Handshake complete,” Sinji Fox calmly stated.

Stacker crossed his arms and analyzed the holographic screen. “That was awfully quick, wasn’t it?”

Fox nodded. “One of the most seamless Drifts I’ve seen. But as we know, it’s often not getting into the Drift that’s the problem.”

“It’s what you do when you’re in it,” the marshal said. He frowned. Despite the advances in Ponn technology, those outside of the Drift had no access to what was going on inside it. Silent words and actions that took place between the pilots were known to them alone. The only things seen and recorded by the people in the Comm room were those that manifested themselves into Jaeger movements. The team could monitor Jaeger damage and Ranger health, and could record strengths and strategies, but how the pilots did what they did? That was kept away from inquisitive minds.

“It’s an ethical issue,” Fox said, his eyes never leaving the screen. Before Stacker had a chance to question the comment, the chief added, “You get irritable every time you witness a Drift. I know it annoys you that you can’t see what they’re thinking. But imagine if that technology did exist. Imagine if we used it when you were a Ranger.”

Stacker snorted. “I have no thoughts I would be ashamed of sharing with anyone else.”

“Even that weekend in Bangkok with the twins?” Pentecost’s face remained passive, but the tech wasn’t fooled. His laughter filled the room, and Stacker relented.

“I didn’t realize until the Sunday that one of them was male.” He shrugged. “By that point, it seemed moot to complain.”

“Your mother would be proud to see those memories.”

He dismissed Fox with a wave of his hand. “I’m not talking about everyone having access to the Rangers’ Drift-”

“Just you,” he finished with a smirk. “I get it, Marshal, I do. And there are times that I think how much easier it would make my job if I could only see where the problems originated. But it’s a slippery slope that I have no objection to avoiding.”

“Twins in Bangkok, Stacks? Really?” Jane’s familiar voice hummed through the speakers.

“My apologies, Ranger,” Fox said. “I didn’t realize I’d left the microphones on.”

Her chuckle rolled down the line. “While we’re on the subject of getting into people’s heads, ask Stacks what his thoughts are on showing up to the Hong Kong ‘dome on New Year’s Day with nothing but his pants and one shoe.”

“All right, all right. Message sent and received. Let’s get back to business, shall we?”

“The numbers look good,” Fox said into his headset. “The Drift was seamless. Vitals are steady, and the impulses to the Jaeger are live. And how are you two feeling?”

“I’m good,” Jane answered. “To my left here is a quiet one.”

“Actually,” Maura said, “I’m still stuck on the image of the marshal in Bangkok.”

“Ewww, you are! Get that thought out of your head. You’re sharing that space with me now, and no one needs to see that, least of all me.”

“Very funny, ladies,” Pentecost said. “Now, are we ready to do something productive today, or are we just going to stand around and gossip like old women?”

“We’re waiting for you to push ‘play’, old man. Not you, Fox.”

Sinji laughed and typed a long code into the simulator. “All right. Fasten your seatbelts. The show’s about to begin.”

…..

In a real attack, once the emergency call goes out and the Rangers are suited up, it’s a simple matter of getting them locked down in the head of the Jaeger, before it’s then fused to the massive body. Co-ordinating the eight V-50 Jumphawk helicopters to lift the beast out of the ‘dome isn’t quite as simple, but the Program only hires the best, and it doesn’t take long for the Jaeger to reach its destination. The Miracle Mile. A designated distance of 10 miles from shore that experts determined to be the closest a Kaiju could be allowed to approach. Desperate battles were bravely won and lost in the Miracle Mile.

But here in the simulation, as real as it could be, there was never truly a sense of fear, only one of anticipation. And for Jane, being out of action for 36 months only added to the expectation. She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on what she was seeing in the neural messages sent back from the Jaeger’s visual transmitter.  _Tricky bastard_ , she thought,  _setting the test at night_. With the waters dark and violent, they would get no advantage based on sight.

“Night vision on,” Maura said on her left, and at her command, the dark screen turned bright.

“Very nice,” Jane praised. “That was an upgrade you guys kept secret.”

Fox’s voice came through the intercom. “Just wait and see what else you might discover, Ranger.”

“I love it when you talk dirty, Fox.”

The Jaeger found an ocean plateau and rose out of the water. “This ledge is 2 kilometres long and 3.3 kilometres wide. If we can lure the Kaiju here, we’ll be at our best advantage,” Maura stated.

“Has the charge up time on the plasma been improved?” Jane asked.

“Yes,” Pentecost replied, “but the technicians have yet to find a way to bypass the electrical drain. So as much as I know you’re dying to try it, Jane, leave the fist until you need it.”

“Damn,” she sighed. “I wanted to smash something.” The power of the plasma came at a cost: it drained the electrical surge from the Jaeger as it charged, momentarily rendering it without power. But without the plasma, there would be no defense from the Kaiju Blue, the toxic blood that would dangerously spew from a wound if not immediately cauterized by the plasma.

“The fist still works on its own,” Fox said. “Please feel free to give it a go.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Clenching her right fist, she could almost feel the fingers of the machine curl together tightly, only to be enveloped by an even larger fist. Out of the corner of her helmet, she could see Maura mirroring her every move.  _You’re doing great_ , she thought, knowing the doctor would hear it in her head.

They swung in unison, enjoying the feel of the heavy action.  _Thank you_ , she replied.  _This feels different. It feels… easier._

 _It’s because you’re finally paired with someone who’s not an idiot. I mean, at least when it comes to this_. Maura’s internal laughter tickled her stomach.

“You ladies have gone quiet,” Stacker said in their ears.

“We’re just braiding our hair until something happens,” Jane quipped. “We’re about to go for a manicure.”

A ripple in the water caught Maura’s attention. “Jane,” she said aloud. “Sighting at 2 o’clock.”

Ths Jaeger’s big head swivelled as the pilots turned in unison. “Confirmed,” Jane said. As one, they walked towards the surfacing menace. “Hold the position. But the minute that bastard shows its face, we take the first shot.” She felt the agreement, and they waited, nerve endings bouncing in anticipation. They didn’t have to wait long.

From the turbulent water it rose, a creature whose species had unleashed terror and fear across the planet. They called it the “Kaiju”, meaning “strange beast”, and the name seemed apropos. Averaging hundreds of feet in height and thousands of tonnes in weight, no two Kaiju were alike, except in their propensity for annihilation. Each lizard-type creature brought its own challenges, from an additional set of arms to a bone blade on its head. Some were more intelligent than others, craftily laying out a plan of attack. Others were stronger, and chose to attack by brute force. All were unrelenting.

Before the creature had a chance to show itself completely, a hammering fist connected across its forehead, sending the Kaiju backwards. Jane let out a whoop of excitement. “Damn, that felt good!” Her next reaction was to follow the beast, but she tamped down the impulse. Words washed over her like a warm breeze.  _Wait for it._  She grinned at Maura’s gentle order.

Anticipating the next move, they turned Solomon’s Fist sideways, making for a smaller target. The right fist was held out menacingly, waiting to be put to use once more. In the blink of an eye, the Kaiju leapt, as if to grab the Jaeger around the waist, but the women twisted in their positions, deftly avoiding the tackle. Their left hands reached out and set the titanium hook deep into its shoulder. With a hard pull, they spun the creature around and rose their right hands to land another punch. What they didn’t expect was the Kaiju to turn and ferociously roar, sending pockets of Kaiju Blue into the Jaeger’s face.

“Clearing the sights,” Jane said.

“Charging plasma burn,” Maura announced, and on command, a thin layer of plasma spread over the head and burned off the Blue.

In the second it took to charge the plasma, the Kaiju took advantage. Using its superior size, it lunged again, this time aiming for the knees. This time, it was successful.

“We’ve lost vertical!” Jane called out.

The Jaeger shuddered as the Kaiju’s head connected square in the chest. The pods vibrated and the women held on.

“Activating plasma fist.”

“No!” Maura said. “We’re not in a position to sacrifice the electrical energy.”

_Don’t fight me on this. If he drags us off the ledge, we’re screwed._

_If we lose power now, we’ll have no defense._

_I can’t do this without you._  She felt the doctor hesitate, but finally, reluctantly relent.

“Activating plasma fist,” Maura said.

“What are they playing at?” Stacker asked no one in particular. “They are in no position to charge that damn thing!”

“Relax,” Jane said. “We got this.”

“Pay more attention to what you’re doing and less on what I’m saying,” he retorted, clearly unhappy.

Lights dimmed in the Jaeger as all the energy was drawn into the fist. And that’s when the Kaiju took advantage. With one massive blow, it disabled the visual system, the loud crack reverberating through the pod.

The information was sent immediately to their cerebral cortex, but Maura called it out. “We have no power to seal the breach. We’ve lost visual.”

 _Another five seconds_ , Jane thought.

In less time, the Kaiju lifted Solomon’s Fist out of the water and brutally smashed it against the submerged ledge. Though tethered tightly to their controls, both women recoiled like rag dolls. Again they were lifted, and again they were battered into the ocean.

Damage notifications were coming in fast and furious. “Left arm has been dislocated from its port,” Fox informed them. “Breach has allowed the pod to take in water. You’re at 27% intake.”

_We need to stand up._

“I know!”

“Then you also know we need power to do that.”

As if on cue, the fist shimmered in a plasma glow, and a burst of energy from the turbo chambers on their back got them into a standing position. “Got you now, you bastard,” the Ranger gritted between clenched teeth.

“We can’t see him, Jane.”

“He’ll be right in front of us,” she replied. “They like to come at you from the front. The visual is gone, but we can still hear. Listen, then let it go. You’ll know when.”

Unfortunately for Jane, she was wrong. It wasn’t standing in front; instead, it was circling behind them. By the time they realized their mistake and swivelled around, the 2000 tonne creature had latched its cavernous mouth into their shoulder. Using all of its weight, it arched and pulled them back into the ocean, turning and twisting into a death roll.

“Water capacity increasing at a rate of 2.1% per minute,” Fox calmly said. “Capacity at 78%.”

“That means we’ve got less than 11 minutes.”

_Thanks, Poindexter. Anything we can use that might actually help us right now?_

_We need to roll in the same direction. Get our knees underneath us when we’re on the bottom. Use the plasma burn. It might be enough to shock him off._

As one, the messages were sent to the Jaeger’s response system, and the big machine rolled with the Kaiju. A film of plasma spread over Solomon’s Fist, and the beast jumped off in shock. The Jaeger attempted to stand, but a sweeping claw connected with its knee and sent it spiralling.

“Capacity at 82.2%.”

“Thanks so much, Fox.”

“There’s too much water, Janie.”

It was a name she only heard as a child or by those close to the family. The Ranger’s heart lurched and she turned her head sharply to her left. She recognized those brown eyes anywhere. Drawing a shallow breath, she whispered, “Frankie?”

…..


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: The Drift, as Jane said in the previous chapter, not only allows two people to share their thoughts, but their memories as well. This is key in this chapter. ‘Ghost-drifting’ (a continuation of the ability to read each other’s thoughts) can occur after the two pilots have been disconnected from the Jaeger. These are both Pacific Rim canon. So too, is the story of Stacker Pentecost.

…..

“Janie, we’re not gonna make it.”

“The suit comes with an internal air system, Frankie. We’ll be fine.”

“You’re scared.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Jane, I’m in your head, remember?”

 _How could a memory make you feel so cold?_  she wondered. The water, the fear, the uncertainty. It made her shiver. They were the last Jaeger standing at the Miracle Mile, the Los Angeles skyline barely visible behind them. Four Jaegers went out on what they thought was a routine mission. Two went on ahead while two stayed behind, standard procedure of defense. Rarely did the two Jaegers at the Mile ever get much combat, and on that day, both Solomon’s Fist and Victory Dance lost the coin toss. They didn’t know that the luck of the draw gave them a chance to save their lives. When the two Jaegers arrived, they were met not by one, but two Kaiju. It was an attack of unprecedented planning, and while one died at the hands of Diamond Dog, the damage had been done: both Jaegers were destroyed, and the remaining beast made its way towards the city.

“Holy shit,” Frankie breathed. “That thing is fuckin’ huge!”

“You know the drill, guys,” Jane said into her microphone. “Tag team. We get a hit and retreat, you do the same thing.”

A male voice filtered into their headsets. “Fuck that, Rizzoli. I’m tired of playin’ second fiddle. I’ll tell you what – we go in, knock the shit outta this thing, and maybe leave you enough to mop up.”

Despite the laughter from the other pilot, Jane calmly replied, “Fine. After you.”

 _Jackass_ , she thought, and Frankie chuckled.

Her brother’s laughter died in his throat when the Kaiju saw Victory Dance’s approach and swiftly spun. Its tail cut a dangerous swath through the air, and sliced the Jaeger in two.

“Holy fuck!” he shouted. “A fucking  _tail_!”

“Get it together, Frankie.”

But they didn’t that day. Whether it was the shock of its ferocity, or the fact that this Kaiju had already destroyed three Jaegers, their Drift was off and they paid for it. It was a clash of machine and monster: the Jaeger going for the knees and the Kaiju going for the head with that deadly barbed tail. Though they connected at the beast’s soft spot, they underestimated its speed, and the tail sliced the front facial shield like a sword through paper. She could see the sky through the jagged opening. Brown eyes that looked so much like her own stared back at her, pleading. The tail swung again and the impact tore away the left side of the pod. In the blink of an eye, Frankie was gone.

Jane froze.

“Jane, I’m in your head, remember?”

She turned at the words, but this time, she found hazel eyes looking back. “I don’t… I can’t…”

Maura slowly walked forward, the carnage seemingly suspended in time. “This is just a memory, Jane. This isn’t real.”

“But it  _was_  real.”

“Yes, it was. And I’m so sorry.”

Jane frantically glanced around, as if trying to find something to ground her thoughts.

“I’m real,” Maura promised. “And I need you.”

She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Even in a memory, the feeling of suffocation was overwhelming, and she clawed at her helmet until the buckles unlatched. Throwing it to the side, she drew in a deep breath and looked up into the clouds. She found no solace there. It was only when she looked at Maura’s gentle face that she found a kind of comfort. She watched as the blonde removed her helmet and placed it on the floor. It took Maura two strides before she was directly in front of Jane. It took two breaths before she felt Maura’s hands stroke her face and gently pull her down.

Mouths gently brushed against each other, until Jane felt her top lip caught between possessive teeth. She returned the favour by capturing Maura’s bottom lip. Hands went into her hair, and Jane pulled the blonde closer. Tongues tentatively found their counterpart and Jane sighed.

Pulling away, Maura breathed, “This is in the past, Jane. I need you now.”

_Jane, I need you now._

The memory faded into the recesses of her mind and suddenly Jane realized where she was.

“Capacity at 94.8%,” Fox said, his voice almost lost in the sounds and the bedlam.

Jane stared straight ahead.

_Don’t do this, please._

_Leave it, Maura. It’s done._  The unspoken meaning hung on her words: I’m done.

“Cancel the damn simulation!” Stacker barked. With a determined stride, he entered the pod. “What the hell happened?” He glared from one woman to the other, as the tech crew flooded in to disengage the pilots.

Unlatched from her control seat, Maura brushed aside the help and pulled off her helmet. She glanced nervously at Jane, who seemed to be ignoring the question. “I, uh… it was me, Marshal.” Both heads swivelled in her direction. “I… I saw something and I… chased the rabbit.”

Stacker’s eyes narrowed. “You know better than that, Isles. How many times have you done a simulation?”

“Fift-”

He held up a hand. “All this time, I thought it was your partners that were the problem. But you were paired with the best Ranger I could give you.” He shook his head, disappointed. “Perhaps you’re not cut out for this.”

“You may be right, sir. I…” she began wheezing, and brought her hand up to her chest. “I should probably… I…”

Pentecost caught her before she hit the floor. Lowering her gently, he waved a tech over to assist. Between the two, they were able to remove the hard shell of the Drivesuit. “Stand back,” he told the tech.

“What the hell happened?” Jane said, crouching down and brushing back a strand of blonde hair.

“Vasovagal,” he replied, and when she raised her eyebrow, he explained, “Fainting. Triggered whenever she attempts to tell a lie.”

She snorted at the idea. “Really?”

His face remained stern. “Yes, really. We found out when she lied about her qualifications.”

“She lied about her qualifications?”

“She underplayed them.” He shook his head at the memory. “She thought if she was truthful, we’d think she was overqualified and we wouldn’t accept her into the program.”

Jane looked down at the woman. The memory of what happened in the Drift came to the fore, and left her confused. “So she’s going to be okay,” she said, forcing a gruffness to her voice.

A tech brought a bottle of water and a first aid gel pack. Stacker molded it to the back of her neck and twisted open the bottle. He flicked a few drops of water onto her face, and she shook her head. Rapidly blinking her eyes, Maura regained consciousness and focus. She attempted to sit up quickly, but was stopped by the marshal’s gentle but firm hand.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her cheeks tinged red with embarrassment. With the help of Stacker and a tech, Maura gingerly stood up.

“You can go get cleaned up,” he told her, “but I expect a full report on my desk and your presence in my office within the hour. Both of you.”

“Yes, sir,” Maura replied. Jane merely grunted. Confident the marshal was out of earshot, Maura turned to the brunette. “Jane, I’m sorry-”

“Stop saying that!” she shouted, and the room went deathly quiet. “God, I’m so tired of people thinking that’s going to make up for everything. Just…leave me alone.” She stormed out, pretending to ignore the hurt she was leaving in her wake.

…..

Maura stood ramrod straight in Stacker’s office, and had been standing this way for over 35 minutes. Having taken 15 minutes to completely strip down, have a shower, and make herself look halfway presentable, she recorded her statement and presented it to the marshal. Once he had listened to her recording, he laid out the reports from Sinji Fox, and began his interview. When finished, she surprised him by asking if she could wait for Jane’s arrival. He agreed, and invited her to sit; an invitation which she refused. Her pose and gaze never wavered, and Stacker privately respected her for it.

With two minutes remaining on Stacker’s time limit, Jane sauntered in, her swagger failing imperceptibly at seeing Maura. Gathering up a scrap of bravado, Jane tossed a USB stick onto the marshal’s desk. His eyes didn’t waver. Gazing over his steepled fingertips, he finally pointed at Jane. “Let’s hear it.”

“It’s all there,” she said, gesturing to the stick.

“And I’ll listen to it later,” he said. “In the meantime, I want to hear it from you.”

She shrugged. “Someone decided to screw me and throw in a little trip down memory lane. You know, the one that ended up with my brother dead.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Stacker’s frown became a look of realization. “Ah, I see. You think I set up the simulation that way? You know damn well it’s random.”

“Yeah, so you’re telling me.” She shrugged again. “Doesn’t matter anyway; better to find out now I’m a head case than to find out in a real battle, huh?” Jerking her thumb in Maura’s direction, she said, “If you can find the right partner for her, you’re going to have one hell of a Ranger on your hands.”

Stacker nodded sagely. “I know.”

Jane waited for some kind of response from Maura, and when none came, she asked, “What? You’re not going to talk to me?”

“I thought you wanted to be left alone, Ranger Rizzoli.” Maura’s eyes remained fixed on the wall.

The brunette clasped her hands behind her back and rolled on her heels. “I see. Fine.”

_Fine._

The two women immediately turned to each other. The motion wasn’t lost on Pentecost. “Ah, now that’s an interesting development,” he chuckled. “You two by chance aren’t ‘ghost drifting’, are you?”

“No,” Jane said more to herself than to the question. Louder, she repeated, “No. No way. You are not going to be in my head 24/7. No.”

“Ghost-drifting is a well-documented side effect,” Maura explained flatly. “Neural connections linger after the Drift has been disconnected. Don’t worry; since I don’t expect us to ever Drift again, the side effect will fade.”

Jane felt the stab in her heart, but pretended otherwise. “Good. Can’t happen soon enough for me.”

“Nor me.”

“Ladies, ladies!” Stacker interrupted. Having their attention, he asked, “What am I to do with the two of you?” He looked down at the paper work. “I’ve never seen such a seamless Drift in all the years I’ve been involved in the Program. Sinji Fox nearly fell out of his chair when he saw your neural paths overlap. And yet, here we are; I’m left with a doctor who has the potential to be one of the best Rangers in its history, who can’t lie, and yet,” he wagged her recording at her, “who also can’t quite tell the truth.” Maura’s eye twitched, but she remained silent. “Then,” he went on, turning his attention to Jane, “I have  _the_  best Ranger in its history – present company excluded, of course – who doesn’t seem to care either way.”

Jane looked at Maura. “What does he mean ‘can’t quite tell the truth’?”

He answered for her. “I mean, it’s fairly obvious something happened that wasn’t recorded. I initially put the blame on you, Maura. For that, I apologize. But it’s apparent, based on what you’ve said, Jane, that it was the memory of what happened to your brother that triggered the rabbit.”

_You didn’t tell him?_

Maura didn’t respond, verbally or otherwise. Stacker didn’t need the Drift to read Jane’s thoughts. “No, she didn’t include that bit of information in her report. Which is why I’m denying her request to be discharged from the Program.”

Jane turned to Maura, mouth agape. “No, Maura.”

“Clearly,” she continued, as if Jane hadn’t spoken, “I think it’s in the best interest of all involved if I remove myself from the Jaeger Program and be reassigned to the science division of the Defense Corps. After 13 unsuccessful missions with a partner, I have to conclude I’m the commonality. I’m not cut out to be a Ranger, despite your very kind words of encouragement, Marshal.”

“So that’s it?” Jane said sharply. “You’re just going to give up?”

Maura turned her head slowly, and in a voice that was devoid of emotion, she asked, “Isn’t that what you’re doing?” Jane opened her mouth to speak, but she was shocked into silence. Returning her attention to Pentecost, Maura asked, “May I leave now, sir?”

Watching the play unfold between the women, he let the ramifications linger for a moment. Finally, he met Maura’s indecipherable gaze. “You may.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As she made her way to the door, he called out, “Maura. I’m denying your request today. Come back to me in 48 hours and I’ll respect whatever decision you make.”

She tilted her head in acknowledgment and left without another word.

“I don’t fucking believe it,” Jane muttered under her breath.

“And I don’t bloody believe it, either,” Stacker said, slamming his hands on his desk as he stood. She jumped back, startled. “Three years, Jane. Three goddamn years. And all you’ve done is wallow!”

Offense was always her best defence, and Jane came out swinging. “You have no fucking idea what I went through. Sitting in your cushy chair, issuing commands like some all-knowing hero. Don’t even pretend to know-”

“Don’t. You. Dare,” he threatened, his voice low and dangerous. “Do you forget who I am, Ranger? I was 27 when my sister died defending San Francisco. A year later, they paired me with Tamsin Sevier and gave me the Japanese Jaeger, Coyote Tango.” His voice was calm, but his eyes were full of fury. “We piloted for two years, until she retired at the ripe old age of 30. Can you guess why she retired, Ranger?”

She shook her head. “No, sir.”

“Guess!” he demanded.

She had heard him yell in the past – barking orders at recruits was par for the course – but she had never heard the venom. “I…” she stuttered, fearful at this unknown side of the man she knew as ‘Stacks’. “I…”  _Coyote Tango. Mark-1 Jaeger._

“Yes,” he sneered, “you’re seeing it now, aren’t you?”

“Radiation poisoning,” she whispered. “Mark-1 Jaegers had an unprotected nuclear core. She retired because of radiation poisoning.”

“She’s in a hospital in Hawaii, getting the best care possible. But she’s still been given a death sentence. Three more years, the doctors say. Maybe even five if she’s lucky.” He shook his head at the thought. “Luck left her a long time ago. Left me, too.”

“You?” Jane fought the tears that threatened to break. “Oh my God, Marshall.”

“What do you think, Jane? That my co-pilot would be exposed to high levels of radiation, but I would somehow be immune?”

“I don’t… I didn’t think…”

“Didn’t think anyone else suffered besides you? Hmm?” He didn’t wait for her to reply. “Let me make this easy for you, Ms. Rizzoli. There’s a Jumphawk headed for Alaska tomorrow afternoon. I paid your bar tab when we left, but I’m sure you’ll have no problem starting another one.”

She blinked, startled at being stripped of her title, dumbfounded at his suggestion. “You’re telling me to go back to Alaska?”

“I’m not telling you anything. At this point, Jane, I don’t give a damn what you do. You’re dismissed.” He sat and began collecting his papers. He logged on to his computer, and it was as if the conversation never happened.

She stood, waiting for more, wondering what to say and how to fix it. Twice, in the span of 30 minutes, the only two people that mattered had cut her out of their lives. She blinked again and the tears fell, but he gave no indication of her distress. His utter disregard shamed her into leaving, and she quietly closed the door behind her.

…..


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: The shortest chapter of the story.

…..

“Dr. Isles. Dr. Isles!” Frost called out to the small figure that was quickly making her way across the warehouse. He excused himself from his group of co-workers and lightly jogged after her. He caught up quickly and playfully reached for her arm. “How did everything go?” She bowed her head, and a curtain of hair hid her eyes. Bending slightly, he tried to catch a glimpse of her face. “Hey,” he said, “is everything okay?”

After leaving the marshal’s office, she had slipped on a mask of indifference, but it only took the warm concern in his voice to strip it away. “No,” she said.

“Come on,” he replied gently. Hesitant at first, he put his arm around her shoulder. “I’m just about to go on lunch. Why don’t we go to the cafeteria and have a bite to eat?”

She shook her head. “No, I…”  _don’t want my failures laid out for all to see_. Out loud, she said, “I’d rather not, if that’s okay.”

“Sure, sure.” He drew her in the direction of a small work bench, away from the main area. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll bring us back something? Something healthy. With fruit.” She couldn’t help but give a ghost of a smile, and he took that as a good sign. “I’ll be right back. You’ll be here, right?”

“Right.”

“All right. I won’t be long.”

True to his word, it didn’t take him more than 10 minutes to run to the cafeteria and bring them back a tray ladened with food. “Sorry, I didn’t know what to get,” he said, as explanation for the overwhelming amount. “I asked Mike what he’d recommend. You know, healthy-like. Probably not the best guy to ask.”

Maura sniffled. “He  _is_  about 50 pounds over his optimum weight.” She took the napkin Frost offered. “Thank you.” Glancing at the tray, she noted, “He did suggest fruit.”

“Yeah,” Frost agreed. “Like the entire orchard. And a cup of yoghurt.” He placed the container in front of her. After doling out a large serving of fruit for them both, he sat back in an old wooden chair. “So. Not so good, huh?”

She popped a grape into her mouth. “No.”

“Did you want to…I mean, you don’t know me, and I’d understand if you didn’t want to talk about it, but…” he shrugged. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

“You have that manner about you,” she agreed. They were quiet for several minutes before Maura said, “Obviously, the test was a failure.” He nodded, but waited for her to continue. “The Drift was seamless. Perfect, in fact. The Kaiju was Level II; nothing we couldn’t handle. Except we got caught by surprise and, well, we failed the simulation.”

He bit into a slice of cantaloupe and pondered her words. “But something else happened.” A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Did Jane get mad at you? Is that why she’s not here?”

“What? Oh no. No. She’s not mad at me. At least, not in this instance.”

Frost frowned. “Not in this instance?”

“Well, I said some things later that may have raised her ire.”

He raised an eyebrow, but went on, “So what happened?”

Maura pressed her lips together. “I’d rather not say.”

He finished the cantaloupe and tried to read her through narrowed eyes. Maura found his gaze disconcerting. “You chased the rabbit.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. The fact that he was half right was impressive. The fact that he was half wrong pushed a button. “Why would you automatically assume it was me? Oh, I know, I haven’t had any real experience; I’ve only been through the simulation, so that doesn’t really count. Or is it because I’m a scientist? I’m better with words than I am with action, is that it? I’ve had that backhanded compliment thrown at me my entire life, Mr. Frost.” She abruptly stood. “But let me tell you something – I would have made a damn fine Ranger!”

“Wait wait wait,” he begged, hands held up in surrender. “I’m sorry. Truly, Dr. Isles. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it, not really.”

She waited for her heart to slow down before she calmly replied, “If you were truly sorry, you’d call me ‘Maura’.”

He blinked at how quickly her outburst died away. “You’ve been waiting a long time to get that out, haven’t you? The part about the backhanded compliment, I mean.” She looked away, embarrassed. “Don’t do that. Don’t be ashamed to let people know what you’re feeling. Maura.” She turned at her name, and he smiled. The grin quickly fell when he replayed her words. “What did you mean ‘would have made’?” Her face remained impassive, but he didn’t relent. “What did you mean by that?”

She lifted her chin and hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. “I put in a request to return to the science division.”

“We just solved how Jane’s ire got raised,” he smirked, though the shake of his head was full of disappointment. “Why, Maura?”

“Why? Because I’m not cut out to be a Ranger. Thirteen times. I think I finally got the hint.”

Raising an eyebrow, he tilted his head. “Did Pentecost tell you that? You’re not cut out to be a Ranger?”

“Well, no,” Maura replied. “He was quite complimentary, in fact.”

“Said you had the potential to be the best Ranger he’s ever seen?”

She pulled back in surprise. “Yes, how did you know?”

“You think he would have let you stick around for as long as he did if he didn’t see something in you? Does he come across as that kind of guy?”

When she had submitted her request, she was certain she’d thought it out as clinically and logically as possible. But Frost’s gentle probing made her question herself. She sat back down. “I… what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, he thinks you got ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ is; you know how rare it is to have those qualities?”

“Only 16.6% of recruits are chosen to become Rangers,” she dutifully supplied.

Frost nodded. “And he still keeps choosing you. Why do you think that is?” She had no answer, so he pressed forward. “If he believes in you, why don’t you believe in yourself?”

His words seemed to startle a confession from her. “My family was never very supportive,” she began. “Oh, they told me I could do anything, be anyone, but it was all very… general. Their praise, their support, their love. I never wanted for anything, and yet, I lacked  _something_.” She glanced down at her hands. “So I suppose I find it hard to accept from people I barely know, when I couldn’t even get it from my own family.”

“I wouldn’t call Marshall Pentecost someone you barely know.” He saw the flush colour her cheeks and he smiled. “Ah. Jane.”

“I don’t understand it, Mr. Frost,” she exclaimed in frustration. “I’ve known her for barely a day. 24 hours! And yet, here she is,” she pointed to her head.

He tried not to laugh at her genuine bewilderment. “The Drift was seamless you said.” She nodded. “Then that means you’re in her head, too.” He saw a flash of pain cross her face. Very carefully, he said, “It was Jane who chased the rabbit. Her brother.” The sentence was more a statement rather than a question. “I guess I can see that. Three years is a long time to be carrying the memory of what happened. I can’t imagine what that’s been like.”

“It’s not the memory I object to,” Maura said quietly. “It’s how she lives with it.”

“Ah, I get it now. She had a bad trip so she’s gonna quit. And you’re just gonna give up, too.” Before she had a chance to voice her objection, he softly suggested, “Maybe the two of you just need some new memories.” Glancing at his watch, he packaged as much fruit as he could into one container. “I gotta go, but take this. She’s probably somewhere eatin’ pancakes or something.”

Maura made a sound, somewhere between a sob and a laugh. “You were right, you know – you’re a very good listener.”

He waved away the compliment. “I think I did more talking than anything.”

“No,” she said, touching his arm in thanks. “Your words tell me you’re listening.”

“Well, now it’s your turn to listen.” He waited for her to lean in. “People call my dad ‘Mr. Frost’. I’m just ‘Barry’, okay?”

Now she did laugh. “Okay. Barry.”

“All right,” he approved. “I’ll see you two later. Don’t be too hard on her.” As he walked away, he turned back to add, “Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

…..


	7. Chapter 7

A/N:  **Please note this chapter has an M rating**.

…..

She cut a lonely figure, sitting on the metal catwalk. With her feet dangling off the edge, her arms gripping the lower bar, and her chin resting on her forearms, she looked liked she didn’t have a friend in the world. The sound of boots on metal pulled her attention away from the life unfolding below her. Eyes met and lingered.

Maura was the first to speak. “What are you doing here?”

Jane shrugged. “Watching people go about their lives.”

“Well, you can’t quite do it in there,” she said tilting her head in the direction of the small hideaway, “but it’s a much more comfortable place to think.”

Jane turned away. “I didn’t think I was allowed. I mean, it’s your place. And Hotaru’s. It’s quiet and peaceful, and I’m…not.”

“All the more reason for you to go inside.” Maura stepped closer and held out her hand. “Come on.”

“You were crying earlier. I’m sorry.”

“We seem to say that a lot to each other,” she replied. Lightly snapping her fingers, she wiggled them at Jane and extended the offer again. “Come on.”

Reluctantly, the brunette took her hand and stood. Guiding Maura with a light touch on her hip, they carefully crossed the gap into the small yet welcoming space. Maura turned and handed her a container.

“What’s this?”

She smiled. “It’s a gift from Barry Frost.”

Eyes narrowed, Jane slowly opened the lid. Her discovery made her laugh. “Fruit. Lots and lots of fruit.” They stood, awkwardly looking everywhere but at each other. Finally, Jane sighed, “This is ridiculous. Sit. I’ll need help eating all of this anyway.”

The two women sat, drawn close because of the shortage of space. With knees touching, they quietly picked at the fruit, satisfied in focussing on the mundane. It didn’t come as a surprise when Jane broke the stalemate.

Without looking up from the container, she said, “Stacker’s sending me back to Alaska.”

Maura stopped mid-bite. “What?”

She pushed the fruit around until she found a grape. “After you left, he told me he didn’t care what I did from here on out, but that there was a Jumphawk flying out tomorrow.”

Maura quietly asked, “Are you leaving?”

“I thought I could give it another shot, thought I could slip back into the suit and it would all be okay again. I was wrong, Maura. And if I can’t be a Ranger, what reason do I have to stay?”

“I see.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Abruptly standing, she said, “I should probably go. I have…things to do. Please stay as long as you want.”

Jane quickly stood and touched her arm. “Wait. What are you going to do? I mean, about the Program?”

She looked up, but refused to meet Jane’s gaze. “What does it matter, Jane?” she asked, defeated.

The brunette closed her eyes and tried to read Maura’s thoughts, but the walls were solid and unbreachable. So she tried something else.

“Why did you kiss me? In my memory, you kissed me.”

“I… I thought it would shock you into returning to the present.”

Jane turned her head slightly. “Is that all?”

“I knew you wanted me. Wanted me to kiss you. I mean,” she gestured vaguely to her head, “I could feel it.”

She reached out and gently tilted Maura’s chin until the woman had no choice but to meet her searching eyes. “Anything else?”

Barely heard over the low him of the generators, Maura admitted, “I wanted it, too.”

“Good,” Jane whispered, rubbing her thumb against Maura’s bottom lip before slipping her hand into thick blonde hair. “I didn’t want to be the only one thinking it.” She smiled at the extra meaning the words had between them. Leaning forward, she grazed her lips across Maura’s. “Are you sure?”

Her warm breath caressed Jane. “You know what I think.”

“Maybe I want to hear you say it.” They were so close the words tickled against their lips.

Instead of answering, Maura grabbed Jane by the belt and harshly pulled her forward, forcing their mouths to collide. Jane tightened her grip and kissed her fiercely, unconcerned about care or grace. It didn’t take long for fingertips to find their way under the brunette’s shirt, and both women sighed at the contact. Eager hands unclasped bra hooks and Jane pulled back with a grin.

“You move quick, Dr. Isles.”

“Quickly,” she corrected, pushing the shirt up along with the bra. Soft hands cupped even softer breasts. “I am a strong proponent of taking it slow. Caressing. Mapping out erogenous zones. Drawing out the pleasure until we’re teetering on the edge of orgasm.” She punctuated each sentence with a hot open mouth kiss along Jane’s taut neck. “But considering the content of your thoughts and the level of my arousal, I thought it best if we took the shortest route possible.”

Jane stepped away long enough to remove her shirt and bra before pulling Maura back into her body. “The shortest route. Good idea. But I reserve the right to do all those other things later.” She felt the smile against her collarbone.

“Of course,” came the reply before Jane felt herself pressed against the angled girder.

Giving over control, letting someone else take the lead was newfound territory for the ranger, and Maura must have sensed it, because she softly encouraged, “Relax.” She flicked the tip of her tongue over a hard nipple and hummed when Jane arched her back.

“‘Relax’, she tells me,” Jane groaned. “Unless ‘relax’ means ‘crawl out of my skin’, we need to talk.”

Maura languidly moved to the other breast and lavished it with attention. “The beauty of the ghost drift is, we don’t. I know what you want just as much as you know what I want.” She gently pulled the nipple between her teeth and blew cool air across the sensitive flesh. Her hand trailed up ticklish ribs and Jane impatiently squeezed it against her breast. The tilt of the iron beam deliciously invited Maura to straddle a willing thigh and when her pant seam found just the right spot, she moaned, sending vibrations through Jane. The brunette gripped rolling hips and jerked hard, heat and want pooling south. Maura’s breath hitched in her throat, and her mouth stuttered downward to where Jane wanted it the most.

A carnal image flashed through Maura’s mind and she looked up from her kneeling position. With a playful smirk, she admonished the eager woman. “Patience.”

“Says the one who was talking about taking the shortest route possible. ”

“Perhaps you could help me.”

Jane looked down and saw hazel eyes peer back, cloudy and dark. She reached for her belt and released the buckle, the metal clinking barely louder than their breaths. A flick of her thumb popped the button of her cargo pants, and their gaze never wavered as she inched down the zipper, tooth by agonizing tooth. Maura’s fingers curled into the waistband and Jane helped her push it down. They were barely past her hips when she felt Maura’s warm mouth mark her just below her navel. Suddenly, the playfulness was gone, replaced by a desperate need, ignited by flames that seemed to spark wherever the blonde touched with mouth or fingers.

As she had done before, Maura began her exploration with a flick of the tip of her tongue, and this tore a cry of pleasure from the brunette. The contact returned, this time lingering and bold; Maura pressing her mouth closer, her tongue more insistent. Jane hooked one arm around the girder behind her while her left hand shakily touched soft blonde hair before pulling away. Without hesitating, Maura blindly reached out and placed Jane’s hand back into her hair. The transfer of control caused a groan that travelled all the way down her body to Maura’s lips.

_I want it, too._

The words seared her thoughts and startled, Jane looked down. A hungry gaze greeted her, causing Jane to throw her head back and tighten her hold.

_I…fingers…want…you…need…_

“I didn’t catch that,” Maura hummed, making Jane twitch in delight.

“I thought…oh god…,” Jane breathed, “I thought you could read my mind.”

Maura rolled back on her heels, admiring her handiwork before sliding hungry eyes up to Jane. “Maybe I want to hear you say it.”

Hearing her own words thrown back at her, coupled with the blonde’s heated gaze and parted lips made Jane growl, and as Maura had done, she chose actions instead of words. She circled her fingers around the wrist of the hand that cupped her breast and pushed it firmly in the direction of her aching need. When able fingertips finally arrived at their destination, Jane’s hard growl was reduced to a soft burr.

“Yesssss,” she moaned. Though her motions were out of rhythm, her hips found a kind of synchronism with Maura’s fingers. Rotating, pressing, drawing out the pleasure. Jane wasn’t sure what the woman was doing; she just knew she wanted more.

_Please._

When Maura entered her, their sighs weaved together as one note of completion. Looking down, Jane watched as Maura’s tongue tasted her again, and she dropped her head back against the metal beam, eyes slammed shut but mouth open, releasing benedictions in a voice she didn’t recognize as her own. With one hand on her breast, she squeezed the nipple to an aching point, and buried her other hand in Maura’s hair. Having been given permission, Jane unrelentingly pressed the blonde closer while grinding her hips forward. Stars began to form in her vision and she knew she was almost there. Almost there.

“What do you need, Jane?” Maura whispered, her voice seductive and wanting. “Slower? Harder? Deeper?” Her fingers mimicked her words and Jane teetered ever closer to release. “Do you know how much I want my fingers to be your fingers?”

There was something in the way she said it that made Jane look down. It only took a glimpse to realize she wasn’t talking about the fingers she had buried deep inside Jane. Somewhere along the way, Maura had unbuttoned her own pants and her fingers had slipped between her legs.

The image was her undoing. “Yes, yes, yes, yes,” she chanted. “I’m…yes…Maura…”

_Your fingers, Jane._

Jane’s body went rigid before tumbling over the precipice of release. Spasms of pleasure rolled through her body like thunderstorm, intense and uncontrollable. Her hand gripped into blonde hair, as if finding the only anchor that could keep her grounded, while her hips jerked gracelessly, revelling in the aftershocks of her orgasm. Synapses fired intermittently, sparking minute twitches that prolonged the pleasure, and breathing was reduced to short stuttering gasps. She dropped her hand from her breast and let it dangle at her side. She had just enough energy to gently caress Maura’s head before that hand also dropped, bereft of strength. She felt Maura chuckle against her sensitive clit, but didn’t have the power to push her away.

The blonde took mercy on her and leaned back, pulling on Jane’s fingertips. “Come lie down.” Resting on her elbows, Maura watched as Jane watched her.

“How are you completely dressed and I’m half-naked?”

Chuckling, Maura said, “Would it make you feel better if I were half-naked?”

Lowering to the floor, Jane advanced upon the smirking woman. “It would make me feel better if you were all-naked.” And without further preamble, she tugged at Maura’s pants, removing them and her underwear in one less-than-graceful move, after struggling mightily with the 10-eyelet military boots. Maura suppressed a laugh once she saw the glower sent in her direction. Jane raked her eyes over Maura’s breasts and the barrier that kept her from them.

_Off._

There was no hesitancy in Maura’s response, and she barely had time to remove the shirt before Jane’s mouth was on her, nipping eagerly at the newly exposed skin. Circling around Maura’s slender waist, Jane’s hand skirted up her back and deftly released perfect breasts from their satin prison. The brunette sighed, and Maura lowered herself onto the mattress, a shiver of anticipation running through her. Their mouths met for the first time since it all began: sloppy, uncoordinated, and unbridled. Maura’s hands slid over the dip in Jane’s back and pushed the pants down as far as she could reach. Jane barely broke the kiss long enough to get rid of the offending garment, and with twin sighs, they were finally flush against each other, mouth to mouth, skin to skin.

Jane wasted no time settling herself between Maura’s legs, revelling at how good it felt, how  _right_ it felt. She thrust forward and groaned when Maura’s hips arched up to meet her. An easy rhythm was found; a symmetry of advances and retreats, giving and taking. The friction was driving her to the edge of insanity, and it only took a teasing brush of her hand between their legs to find she wasn’t the only one. Propping herself on an elbow, she shifted until she captured the blonde’s left leg between hers, and eager fingers made their intentions known.

“Yes,” Maura whispered, both begging and commanding, staring up into deep brown eyes until the brunette complied. Closing her eyes, she whispered again. “Yes,” this time in reverence and completion.

Jane tried to hold her gaze, tried to memorize every detail, but she, too, had to close her eyes at the sensation. She held the position as long as she could; fingers buried deep inside the woman who had somehow found her way into Jane’s soul. She wanted to touch every corner of her, find every nook, explore all her secret places. Those thoughts were put on hold when she hooked a leg around Jane’s waist and dug a heel into her back. An arm snuck around Jane’s neck and pulled her close, until her lips found a spot in the crook of Maura’s neck. Jane felt hot breath against her ear, but all she could focus on was the soft demands of the woman beneath her.

“Harder…”

“More…”

“Please…”

Jane was only too happy to oblige.

When the blissful end arrived, it wasn’t because of the skillful fingers that had dragged her to the edge. It wasn’t even the carnal vows growled into Maura’s ear. In the end, it was a feeling, a silent promise of new beginnings that filled her heart and spilled over into a long shuddering release.

Jane lifted her head and watched the pleasure flush across Maura’s face. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth, and nostrils flared as she rode out the last waves of ecstasy. The strong thigh tensed between Jane’s legs, and she was surprised at her quickly she succumbed for the second time that night.

Without warning, her body became rigid, and she collapsed on top of a warm soft body. Between jagged breaths, she said managed, “That was…”

Without opening her eyes, Maura breathed, “Unexpected?”

“Everything leading up to where we are? No, not unexpected.” Rolling off the smaller woman, she inhaled lungfuls of air. “That second time, though? Wow.”

Maura shifted to face her on the small mattress. “The first time was pretty good, too.”

Jane chuckled. “Mine or yours?”

“Both!”

She turned the blonde to spoon her, and looked around for a blanket. Maura didn’t have to read her mind. “We’re lying on it.”

With an over-exaggeration that made Maura laugh, Jane tugged and pulled and contorted until the blanket was out from underneath them. “This is it?” Jane said, sizing up the meager offering.

“It’s big enough for one,” Maura defended. “It’s all I’ve ever needed it for.”

“Right, note to self: Get a bigger blanket from supplies.” Jane tried in vain to cover their bodies with it.

“You’ll just have to suffer through staying extra close to me,” Maura said.

Scooting in tightly behind her, Jane tucked the blanket around them. “What a hardship.”

Feeling Jane’s arm rest around her waist, Maura laced their fingers together. “What happens tomorrow, Jane?”

She thought about it for a moment, knowing she couldn’t lie to Maura, even if she wanted to. “I guess we’ll find out. Tomorrow.” Pressing a kiss against Maura’s ear, she softly assured, “Tomorrow.”

…..


	8. Chapter 8

**…**

The bed was small, forcing Jane to spoon tightly against Maura, and she relished in the proximity. Warmth and softness moulded against her body like it was designed to fit just so. A sound began to seep into her subconscious, and she groaned her disapproval, tucking her hand around and under Maura’s waist.

“Turn off your alarm,” Jane mumbled into thick blonde hair.

“I don’t have an alarm,” Maura groggily replied, turning slightly and offering a magnificent view as she stretched with feline grace. She froze in mid-stretch. “The alarm!” Scrambling to her feet, she threw the blanket over Jane’s face and frantically searched for her clothes.

The ranger didn’t have to ask for an explanation; she knew full well what the alarm meant. She hastily stood and kicked her legs into underwear and pants, pushing her feet into tight leather boots as she struggled into her bra. Shaking hands offered assistance, and Jane looked over her shoulder to give thanks. “Breathe, Maura,” she said, when she saw her startled expression.

Maura nodded, and inhaled deeply through her nose, then exhaled slowly through her mouth. “I’ve just…” she breathed again.

“You’ve just never been called to the real thing,” Jane finished, pulling her shirt down. Turning and kneeling, she tapped Maura’s leg, signalling for her to raise her foot. With a few hard pulls, Jane tied the boot, then repeated the motion with the other. She stood and put her hands on Maura’s waist. “We don’t even know what this is. Might not be anything other than a drill.”

“That’s true,” Maura agreed, the realization lighting her eyes. “It could just be a drill.” She reached over to the small table and grabbed a few hair ties. Handing one to Jane, she said, “Still, we should probably go see.”

“What about you leaving the program?” Jane asked.

Maura raised her chin. “What about you leaving this afternoon?”

Jane narrowed her eyes, but there was no backing down in Maura’s hazel eyes. “Fine,” she said at last. “Let’s just see what the hell’s going on. But when we come back, I’m stealing two blankets and we’re hiding out here forever. End of story.” She punctuated her declaration with a kiss that hinted at what ‘forever’ might hold.

…..

“What the hell are you doing here?” Stacker barked when he saw the two women enter the Drivesuit Room.

“I believe you gave me 48 hours to make a decision,” Maura replied coolly. “I still have over half of that time remaining.”

“I’m just here to see them try and squeeze your fat ass into a spandex suit,” Jane quipped to the marshall.

“Quit pissing about,” he snapped back, no humour in his voice or his eyes. Turning to the tech, he growled, “Work faster, or by god you’ll be wiring outhouses in the Antarctic when this is through. If I’m still around to give the blasted order!”

Jane blinked and the gravity of the situation hit her. “This is for real?”

“As a bloody heart attack, Ms. Rizzoli.”

She searched the room. “Hey. You.” She snapped her fingers at a tech who was standing off to the side. “Get my Circuitry suit.”

Pentecost held up a hand. “Belay that order.” The tech froze.

“Get me the suit,” Jane repeated, her voice devoid of emotion, “or I’ll rip your balls off.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The tech scurried to the lockers.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Jane jerked her thumb in Maura’s direction. “You didn’t stop her from suiting up.” The pair watched as she slid into the spandex, unaware of the audience.

He snorted. “I have some measure of faith in her. At least I can be assured she won’t bottle it.”

The brunette inhaled sharply at the accusation, but pushed down her anger. “So what? You’re gonna try and drift with her? Have you drifted with her before? When’s the last time you drifted with anyone? Or are you gonna just pilot the Jaeger yourself?” He blinked, startled by the bombardment of questions. When no answer was forthcoming, Jane said, “If you’re going to try that shit with someone, why don’t you pull out one of the greens from the recruiting class and power up one of the other Jaegers?” She was down to her skivvies by the time the tech came back with her suit.

“There are no other Jaegers,” he said quietly.

The room went about its business, even as Jane’s heart seemed to stop. “What?”

“Solomon’s Fist is it, Jane.”

“You can’t be serious.” She stood while the tech pulled on her gear. “A ‘dome this size should have at least three Jaegers, maybe four.”

Stacker shook his head. “This was only ever meant to be a training facility. We train the pilots and send them off. We build the mechs and ship them out to other ‘domes. Solomon’s Fist is the only true fighting Jaeger here. We’ve got Echo’s Revenge as the backup, but you saw the recruits – no one’s ready to step inside.”

She stood tall and determined in her suit, and Maura came to stand by her side. “So we’re it?”

“They’re sending a pair of Jaegers from Tokyo, but…”

Nodding her understanding, she finished, “It’ll take them at least an hour and a half to get here.”

“So we  _are_ it,” Maura said.

Stacker could only tilt his head in confirmation.

“Then I guess you better get in the Control room and tell us what the hell we’re getting ourselves into,” Jane told him, allowing the tech team to attach the Drivesuit. “Unless you want to come along. But you’ll have to sit in the back and we’re not stopping every five minutes so you can pee.”

He bit the inside of his cheek at her gall, and tried one last attempt to throw her off. “I thought I told you there was a Jumphawk leaving this afternoon.”

“You also told me you didn’t give a damn what I do,” she said, throwing his earlier words back at him. “So here I am. Besides, we all know there’s no way in hell a Jumphawk is leaving today. Not with this going on.”

A seasoned tech stepped forward. “We’re doing this or we’re not, Marshall,” he said, his gaze never wavering despite an imposing glare from Pentecost. “I gotta get these pilots hooked up in the Conn-Pod, which means, you gotta leave.”

The trio of Stacker, the tech, and Jane stood rigid, as if in some kind of standoff. It was Maura’s quiet yet firm voice that broke the silence. “Is this really the time for a pissing contest?” Three heads turned. “Well? We’re trained to terminate a threat, and there’s a threat out there. I’m tired of talking. I’m ready to go.” The tech smirked and both Jane and Stacker had the good grace to look ashamed. “Besides,” she added, shifting in her suit, “I’m getting very itchy. They really need to do something about this lycra/spandex blend.”

Stacker sighed. “Fine. Hook up the suits. Mr. Fox is in the control room, and I’ll be in your ear the whole way.” He gave the duo one last look before making a motion to leave. Surprised by a soft touch on his arm, he turned and saw hazel eyes looking back.

“Thank you, Marshal,” she said warmly. “I’m not only honoured that you’ve seen something in me I didn’t even see myself, but that you were also willing to be my co-pilot today. It means more than I can say.” Stacker bowed his head at the compliment. “I trust Jane.” She looked over at her co-pilot, then back to the marshal. “And I hope you’ll trust us both.”

Jane chuckled. “She just didn’t want to get caught in your Bangkok memories, Stacks.”

He glared at her, and Maura shook her head. “Oh, no, no. That’s not it at all, sir.” She swallowed loudly and looked away.

With a surprisingly tender hand, he squeezed hers and chastised with a poorly hidden grin, “Hives, Maura.”

“If we’re doin’ this, we need to do it now,” the tech said.

“All right,” Stacker barked to the crew, “let’s go!” He was the last to leave the Pod, but he took one final look at the two pilots. They were making last minute adjustments to their control panels, mentally and verbally running down checklists. Jane glanced over and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged. “I would have been happy to have drifted with either one of you. Happy and proud.” Both women were taken aback by his candor. “The trauma of my Bangkok memories notwithstanding.” He shared a smile and a rare wink, before stepping back and letting the door close between them.

…..

“Drifting initiated,” said the quiet voice of Sinji Fox. He carefully watched the screen that tracked the neural pathways of both women, looking for any sign of a glitch or a blip. He found none. “Amazing,” he whispered.

“You’re pretty awesome, too, Sinji,” Jane quipped into her headset.

Once the Pod was attached to the Jaeger, and the pilots were drifting, they had nothing to do but sit back while the eight V-50 Jumphawks attached their cables and lifted the 1500 tonne beast out of the ‘dome. As they slowly ascended, the sun crept over the giant’s eyes – the visual port – and beamed into the Pod.

“It’s beautiful,” Maura said in awe.

Jane idly checked the gauges. “Didn’t they make you do any of the simulations in daylight conditions?”

“Of course,” she replied, “but this is…”

“Real,” Jane said, recognizing the apprehension. “I felt the same the first time they sent me out with Korsak,” she admitted, hoping it would put Maura at ease. “Just do what you’ve been trained to do, and trust your gut.”

Maura turned her head sharply. “Oh, no. That requires a level of spontaneity I don’t think I’m comfortable with.”

“Then trust mine,” Jane smiled. “Besides, I think you were more than comfortable being spontaneous last night.”

_Jane!_

_What? Are you going to tell me you planned that thing you did with your hair?_

“Jane!”

The brunette laughed and Stacker’s honeyed voice said, “Penny for your thoughts, ladies.”

Scoffing, Jane replied, “You don’t have enough pennies, Stacks.”

“As much as I’d like to help Marshall Pentecost with his collection plate, shall we go over some details?” Sinji asked.

“Please,” Maura said, thankful for the interruption.

“Very good,” the senior tech said. “A flux in the breach was detected 14 minutes ago. Early readings indicate, based on the ambient radiation levels, this Kaiju is Category III. Randomizer has named it ‘Gargantua’.”

Though the men couldn’t see it, Jane shook her head. “Why is it always these names? Why ‘Reckoner’ and ‘Insurrector’? ‘Gargantua’? Really? Did anyone ever think maybe we wouldn’t have these problems if we didn’t give them such violent labels?”

“You think something more along the lines of, what- ‘Fluffy Bunny’ might not make them so aggressive?” Stacker deadpanned.

“Studies have shown-” Maura began, before a gentle wink from Jane stopped her. “Ah, I see. Banter.”

“The ‘hawks will drop you off on the sea ledge,” Sinji informed them. “You’ve got a lot of territory to work with, so use it to your advantage.”

Jane’s tone quickly went from light-hearted to serious. “Understood. Any sneak-peek to show us what this bastard looks like?”

Stacker’s voice was an apologetic one. “Automated scouts haven’t come back with anything beyond the data.”

“Yay. I love surprises.”

“Touch down in 90 seconds,” Fox said.

“Final preparations,” Jane called back. The women were quick but thorough in their last run through of their checklist. As she mentally verified the safety levels, she breathed deeply and looked at Maura, waiting until she had her attention.

_I never trust people who say things a minute before they go into danger. So when this is all over, remind me to tell you I love you._

Startled, Maura spoke aloud. “What?”

Giving her another wink, she said, “You heard me. Or read my mind. Whatever.”

“T-minus 30 seconds,” the tech intoned.

“I hate this part,” Jane admitted. “It’s like the bottom of an elevator dropping out.”

“My previous drift partner vomited on the release.”

Jane glanced at Maura. “Gross.”

“Fifteen seconds,” Fox said. “Brace for impact.”

Maura glanced over and saw Jane’s lips move, as if she was reciting something quietly to herself. “I didn’t think you were religious,” she said.

“What? Oh, that’s not a prayer,” Jane answered over the roar of the Jumphawks releasing the Jaeger. “It’s Ted Williams’ stats. I find it distracts me enough that I don’t even noti-” The mechanical beast landed with a spine-shuddering thud. “Ow! I bite my tongue every damn time!”

“Landing complete and solid,” Fox said. “Kaiju approaching 45 degrees north-east.”

“Use the clock, Sinji,” Jane begged. “My directions are shit.”

“2 o’clock,” Maura piped in.

Stacker’s deep rumble rolled into their headsets. “Here it comes, ladies.”

The water, deep and dark, made it hard to get an exact location, but the turmoil of the surface made it clear as day. Crests became waves as the Kaiju got closer, and a wall of water showered down upon them when the beast stood. It seemed to take an eternity for it to reach its full height.

“Holy shit,” Jane murmured.

“Comm,” Maura whispered, “are you seeing this?”

Sinji Fox was stunned into silence. Pentecost swallowed before leaning into the microphone. “We’re seeing it.”

“Are you sure this is a Cat III?” Jane asked. “I mean, it looks like…two were fused together.”

“It has four arms,” Maura said incredulously.

Since the earliest days of the Kaiju War, the beasts were studied and categorized. Patterns and behaviours were memorized by Rangers. Strengths and weaknesses were documented and learned. But even their combined experience, real or simulated, couldn’t prepare them for the scope of the task that stood menacingly above them. Towering in its height, the Kaiju had to be over 400 feet tall, and dwarfed the weight of Solomon’s Fist by nearly a tonne. It raised its head towards the sky and let out a blood-curdling roar.

“I take back what I said earlier,” Jane said. “The Randomizer is dead-fucking-on. ‘Gargantua’.”

_Strategy?_

_Like chopping down a tree, Maura. We gotta go low._

Before the Kaiju could turn its attention back to them, the women launched the mech into the beast’s left knee. It was like hitting a brick wall and the collision made their teeth rattle. They simultaneously pulled back, trying to get Solomon to his feet, but didn’t get that far. Thick arms wrapped around their waist and hoisted up the 1500 tonne machine with ease.

“Loss of equilibrium,” Maura shouted, as they tried to compensate.

Raised high over the head of the Kaiju, time seemed to stand still. “Hold on, Maura. It’s gonna be one hell of a landing.”

As predicted, the violent drop from 400 feet was literally earth-shattering. Power-slammed into the sea ledge was an unstoppable object meeting an immovable force, and the tidal wave created was enough for Stacker to shout a direction to an underling in the room.

“Contact the Nagasaki Coast Guard,” he bellowed. “Notify them of a potential wave.”

In the Jaeger, the pilots forced the machine to turn onto its stomach, and nearly pushed itself up to its feet when the alien monster grabbed it from behind. One pair of unnaturally strong arms gripped Solomon around the head, while a second circled below the waist. In an opposite twist, the Kaiju roared as it attempted to rip the machine in half.

The women inside fought it, to no avail. “We’ve got to get out of this,” Jane said.

_Turbo jets in the boots._

_Yes!_

No Jaeger had the ability to fly; at nearly 3 times the weight of the world’s largest aircraft, nothing could sustain it. To compensate, every Jaeger came equipped with a temporary form of power that could lift the machine for very short periods of time. Some jet packs were attached to the back, but most were welded to the boots. Without another word, Solomon’s flames were ignited. The intent wasn’t to lift them out of the hold; because of Gargantua’s strength, they knew such a tactic was nearly impossible. Instead, they bent their knees and aimed the jets towards the beast’s legs.

Jane calmly called out, “Engaging blades.”

On her demand, the serrated edges hidden in the left forearm extended, and Solomon’s Fist swung blindly, catching the exposed underbelly. The monster howled in pain and dropped the Jaeger, both falling clumsily into the sea.

 _Get up, get up, get up_ , both women chanted silently.

Being lighter had one advantage, and that was speed. In an instant, Solomon was on his feet again, rocking slightly, waiting for the next attack. It came in a giant’s footsweep, and the pilots were prepared. Jumping as much as the weight of the mech would allow, they avoided the tactic and counter-attacked with a hammering blow to the now vulnerable knee. The big fist lifted again, prepared for the second strike, when the injured Kaiju thrashed wildly in defense. A massive claw arced through the air and struck the Jaeger square in the chest.

“Fall back!” Stacker shouted.

The women fought to maintain their stability while Jane yelled into her headset. “Fall back where, Stacks? We’ve got no cover.”

“Power grid reduced by 33 percent,” Fox said coolly.

The mech staggered back and dropped to one knee. They looked up in time to see the shape of the 400-foot beast block out the sun. The Kaiju clasped a pair of hands together over its head and brought them down in a decimating tomahawk blow. Solomon’s left arm was raised quickly enough to shield them from damage, but it took the full force of the impact. The sound of metal ripping away from the body was deafening.

Information came to Maura before Fox could get the chance to relay it. “Left arm partially removed. We’ve lost neural connection to the limb.” She got the words out right before another blow landed. Without the arm to defend, Gargantua’s rage tore through across the Jaeger’s head.

“The auxiliary shell has been compromised,” Fox said. “Structural integrity down to 29 percent. At this rate, the introduction of O2 is imminent.”

“Can you not just fucking say ‘We’re taking on water’?” Jane yelled. “Jesus!”

_Power down to 57 percent, Jane._

Then, out of nowhere, a cold memory skirted the edges of her mind. With a quiet benediction, she whispered, “Frankie.”

 _Jane_.

But it wasn’t her brother. Somehow, among the chaos that roared in her heart and outside the Jaeger, Maura’s gentle voice rose above it all.

 _Don’t do this,_ she said, repeating words from their first simulation.  _Please don’t do this to me._

Images of a young woman, waiting by a phone, standing in a doorway, looking out a window flashed across Jane’s mind.

 _What were you…_  It was then Jane understood.  _You were waiting for them to come back._  Her heart dropped at the realization. She wasn’t the only one who lost someone. Stacker did. And so did Maura. With steely resolve, she turned her head and looked at her.  _I won’t leave you._  Feeling a comforting warmth blossom from within, she embraced a newfound determination.

_We are not going down like this._

“Abort the mission,” Stacker commanded, bringing them back to the here and now.

Jane’s snort could be heard through the speakers. “And then what? Let this bastard roll through Nagasaki? Has the Tokyo squad shown up?”

He took a moment to respond. “Another 30 minutes at least.”

“We’re not gonna last 30 minutes.”

“It’s heading towards the Mile,” Fox calmly said.

“We can’t let it get there!” Jane argued.

Quietly, but firmly, Maura cut in. “We have an idea.”

Jane spun to look at her co-pilot. “We do?” She felt a thought caress her mind and she gave a broad grin. “We do.”

“What do you need us to do, Jane?” the marshall asked quietly.

Without taking her eyes off Maura, she quipped, “Watch and learn, old man.”

_We have to activate the plasma._

_With power dropping, we’ll have to shut everything else down._

_Everything but life support._

_At risk of sounding morbid, we most likely won’t even need that._

_There are two escape pods on the level under us. We can activate the fist and get to them before it blows._

Maura’s laugh tickled her thoughts.  _Jane, the lower level is under water at this point. The probability of us making it to them even before the threat of a plasma overload is astronomical._

 _But not impossible._ She looked at Maura expectantly.

 _No,_  she sighed at last.  _Not impossible._

“My kind of odds,” Jane said aloud.

“Jane…” Stacker said apprehensively.

Fox interrupted the exchange. “At its current speed, the Kaiju should reach the Miracle Mile within five minutes.”

“We’ve got to make a move now, Jane,” Maura said. “Once he hits the Mile, it’s too late.”

“Power down to 45 percent, water intake 100 percent in the secondary chamber.”

“Fox,” Jane warned, “when we get back, I’m going to put that microphone somewhere you’re not going to like.”

Maura pushed a button on her forearm. “Communications off.” Seeing Jane’s bemused expression, she shrugged. “It’s just extra power we can use. Besides, what can they tell us that we don’t already know?”

“I heard that!” Pentecost bellowed. Glaring at Fox, he demanded, “What have they done?”

“Exactly what Dr. Isles said – she turned off all communications. We can still hear them because the power source is coming from us.” Fox sat back in his chair, defeated. “But they can’t hear us. So I suggest you sit back and watch the show.”

_We need to get his attention, make him turn around._

_The safety flares are on an independent emergency power source. We can use it without it affecting the plasma charge._

_It’s as good a plan as any._

The Kaiju, dismissing its vanquished opponent, was already 100 yards away, but the locator flares had an elevation of twice that distance. In this case, however, they weren’t being shot in the air, they were being fired directly at the beast. The first was well wide, but the second hit it squarely in the back.

“Mission accomplished,” Jane murmured when the Kaiju turned to look back.

 _Activating the plasma_ , they said as one as the behemoth lumbered menacingly towards them.

“What are they doing?” Pentecost asked. “Why have we lost visual?” He held up a hand before Fox could answer. “Oh my God,” he said under his breath. “They’re charging the plasma. Send out the rescue team.” When no one moved, he spun around and looked at the faces, frozen in fear. “Send out the rescue team!” he bellowed, pointing at a tech.

“Yes, yes sir,” he stammered.

Stacker’s gaze returned to the screen, but there was nothing to see except two blips on the radar screen.

“Now we wait,” Jane said. “Be patient. Lure him in.”

“Rope-a-dope,” Maura replied. “A technique perfected by Muhammad Ali during the Rumble in the Jungle against George Foreman.” Seeing Jane’s bemused grin, she said, “What?”

Jane could only shake her head. “I really, really love you.”

Taken aback, Maura could only blink and ask, “I thought you were going to wait until this was all over before you told me.”

Shrugging, she said, “I can take it back if you want. Save it for later?”

“Don’t you dare.”

The two women held each other’s gaze, and a quietness surrounded them. The silence was only broken by the low hum of the plasma charging, and even that seemed to give them some comfort.

“Should we talk strategy?” Jane asked, breaking the stillness.

“We should.”

“Okay. As soon as we hit it, we gotta get out of these suits. It’s too much weight.”

Maura nodded. “Unhook the boots first,” she suggested. “That way, we can help each other.”

“Right.” Jane went through a mental checklist. “Escape pods are on the level under us. They’re airlocked, so we don’t have to worry about the water, but we’ll have to make it quick.”

“The Evac button runs on an emergency power grid. Seal the latch once you’re in and everything else should fall into place.”

Jane smirked. “Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?”

“He’s almost here, Jane.”

The sun shone through the massive viewer, making the Kaiju’s legs sparkle as it pushed its way through the deep water. Then it stopped.

“What’s it doing?” Maura asked.

Stacker watched the dot come to a halt. “Why has it stopped?”

“Come on, you bastard,” Jane murmured.

The Kaiju stood, a deadly giant against the bright sky. Its body swayed while air filled its massive lungs. Eyes darted to and fro, and for a second, it looked over its shoulder, in the direction of the city. Its eyes narrowed, and seemed to be contemplating its options.

“If he starts back towards the city, there will be nothing we can do to stop him, Jane.”

“Come on, you bastard,” she repeated.

Its nostrils flared and its gaze levelled on the broken carcass of Solomon’s Fist. As if he heard Jane’s taunt, the alien behemoth squared itself, curled its hands into fists, and let out an enormous roar. It lumbered towards them, confident and dangerous.

“That’s it,” Stacker urged.

_Patience, Jane._

The Ranger took stock of her tightly coiled body and her heightened attention.  _No_ , she silently explained with a smile,  _I just get like this when I’m excited._

_If memory serves me correctly, you certainly do._

Jane’s mouth dropped and she laughed.  _Are you making a joke about our sex life already? I didn’t know you were a teenage boy._

 _I’m not_ , Maura answered.  _But you are and I’m in your head. It’s not my fault I’ve picked up some of your adolescent humour._

The women laughed, but the men back at the Comm station could only frown. “Why are they laughing? Why aren’t they talking?”

Sinji Fox pointed at the digitalized chart. “Look at their Drift levels. They don’t need to speak.”

Waves created from the Kaiju’s approach crashed against Solomon and did well to hide the glowing fist that propped him up. They lifted the Jaeger’s head, broken and defeated in the shadow of the beast. Gargantua looked down with no remorse or care, sneering at its vanquished opponent. Fists raised to the sky, it roared again, before unleashing a downward blow.

In the span of seconds, it was all over.

As the arms came down, Solomon’s fist came up, a glowing blue weapon of destruction aimed directly at the Kaiju’s soft underbelly. The plasma, hot and searing, tore through the exposed skin as if it were rice paper, pushing through until it was elbow deep in its abdomen. It gave one final primal scream, but this one was in pain, not pride, as the plasma coursed through, incinerating it from the inside out.

The instant the fist connected, Maura unclamped her boots and staggered forward. Water had begun to flood the main floor and it came up to her knees. She unbuckled her helmet and tossed it to the side. Turning, she saw Jane doing the same.

Pentecost’s voice was barely above a whisper. “How much time do they have, Sinji?”

“Considering the plasma charge necessary to take down a Kaiju of that size, it will most likely double-back on itself and ultimately destroy Solomon’s Fist as well.”

“How much time?” he asked again, nearly shouting.

Fox shrugged. “Too many factors to consider, Stacks.” He could see that answer wasn’t to the man’s liking, so he tried another tack. “If all situations line up as expected, they’ll have less than 5 minutes.”

Two minutes of that time was spent unburdening themselves of the bulky Drivesuits. Clad in nothing more than the spandex circuitry suits, it lightened them by over 50 pounds and gave them the mobility needed to get to the secondary level. The water was cold and dark, but Maura had done the simulations enough times to know the floor plans by heart, and what Jane couldn’t remember, Maura supplied. Their lungs burned; their bodies didn’t seem to be moving fast enough towards the escape pods, but patience paid off when Jane’s hand reached the first door.

_Go._

Maura was inclined to protest, but she knew it would only take up valuable time. She nodded, and they choreographed a perfect dance between Jane opening the airlock door and Maura slipping inside. Jane pushed the door shut before the chamber could fill with water. She watched as Maura strapped herself in, before they gave each other one final look. Jane tapped the glass and gave a thumbs up. The last image Maura saw was Jane reaching for the second door before she was catapulted through the escape tube.

Sinji’s estimation was almost to the second, and in an instant, the two blips on the radar screen disappeared. The explosion could be heard as far as the coast, and every light on the communications board went out. The tech rubbed his face with his hands.

“Anything?” Stacker asked, and Fox could only shake his head. “Rescue should be there shortly,” he said, more to himself than to the scant few who remained. “They’ll have locator beacons on the escape pods.”

“If they-”

Pentecost cut off the man with a firm hand. “They used them. They made it.”

“I hope you’re right.”

…..


	9. Chapter 9

A/N-  I think this story ends up feeling a bit rushed- so much happens in such a short time- but I’m pretty happy with it overall. I hope you are, too.

…..

_I know you’re out there; I can feel you. And while I am partial to the strong and silent type, I’d love it if you could just say something. Anything at all. Jane?_

The carnage left behind by the destruction of a 400+ foot creature and a 250 foot mechanical beast was immeasurable. The rescue crew began slaloming through remnants of the explosion as far as 5 miles from the site. A crew member had his gaze locked onto the radar screen, hoping to weed out two emergency signals from the swath of dots that made up the debris.

_You know, I never said it back. You were right – saying it in the heat of battle, with our emotions so charged, didn’t seem appropriate. But now that the worst is over, would it be okay to say it now?_

“Captain McGehee, we’ve got contact, sir!” the radar tech announced.

The captain came over and analyzed the findings. “Good work, Lt. Hastings. Give the coordinates to nav. Pass the information on to Marshal Pentecost.”

Reaching the pod was easier said than done, but with the bit between their teeth, they were eager to bring it in. At a speed not entirely sanctioned by the captain, the boat weaved its way to the target, and a victorious cheer erupted from the crew when it came into view. Military precision brought the escape vessel into the docking port of the small ship, and the hatch was immediately popped. Water spilled out and brought with it a seemingly unconscious brunette.

“Alive,” the ship’s doctor calmly stated as he checked Jane’s vital signs. “Lacerations to the head have caused her current state.”

“Didn’t strap herself in,” the captain noted.

“Probably didn’t have time. In the end, getting out when she did most likely saved her life.”

McGehee shook his head in amazement. “So she’s going to be okay?”

The doctor procured a crew member to help him sit Jane up, where she was wrapped in a thick wool blanket and given an oxygen mask. “A little woozy, but all in all, I’d say she’s a very, very lucky girl.”

_Who you calling a girl?_

_Maura?_

“Maura…” she breathed into the mask. She tried to pull it off, but her arms were trapped in the folds of the blanket. Seeing her distress, the crew member pulled the oxygen away. “Maura,” she repeated, a bit more firmly.

“We’re looking for her now, Ranger,” the captain said, kneeling on his haunches to look at her, eye to eye. “How are you feeling?”

Despite the disapproving frown she got from the doctor, she staggered to her feet, with the crew member’s help. “What’s your name?” she asked him.

“Ensign Alex Crest, ma’am.”

“I suppose ‘ma’am’ is better than ‘girl’,” Jane smiled, touching her head. “Thanks for your help.”

“My pleasure, ma’am. It’s an honour to serve you.”

She made a face. “Okay, stop now.” Returning her attention to the captain, she said, “I feel like I’ve gone 12 rounds with a 2000 tonne alien from another world.” He couldn’t hide his snort and she smiled. “Where’s Maura?”

The crew went silent.

Jane did a complete turn, taking in her surroundings, and saw no sign of the woman. “I know she’s alive,” she said, her hand snaking out of the blanket and tapping her forehead. “So where is she?” She singled out the ensign with a look. “Ensign Crest?”

The young man glanced at his captain, who gave a silent nod of approval. “Uh, we have yet to locate her, ma’am. But we are currently, uh, scanning the area, and…”

“At ease, Ensign,” McGehee said. “Ranger, we are doing our best to find her.”

“Have you found her?”

The question puzzled him. “Pardon?”

“Have you found her?”

“Well, no, clearly we haven’t.”

She stepped forward and despite his height advantage, she seemed to stare him down. “Then you’re clearly not doing your best, are you?”

They shared steely gazes until the captain barked out a laugh. “You’ve got balls, Rizzoli, I’ll give you that. No wonder you and Stacks are such good friends.”

The mention of his name made Jane’s eyes widen. “Shit! Stacks. I totally forgot. Is he here?”

“You think we’d be shooting the shit if he was?”

Jane gave McGehee a once over and nodded her approval. “I like you, Captain. Now let’s cut to the chase.”

…..

…..

_Don’t get angry at me. I’m doing the best I can._

_Maura, telling me you’re near a big piece of shiny something isn’t really helping._

_Well, you yelling at me isn’t helping, either._

_I’m not yelling! How can I yell in your head?_  She got no response for this outburst, and when the silence stretched out between them, Jane relented.  _I’m sorry. I’m an ass. I’m just…all over the place._

_Based on the position of the sun, I am 14 degrees south of our last location. With a margin of error of plus or minus 2 degrees. I am caught on the big piece of shiny something, which could account for the difficulty in finding me._

Jane laughed out loud and drew the attention of the crew in the navigation room. “Sorry. She’s kind of a geek.” She walked over to the wall and after getting her bearings straight, tapped a spot on the map. “About 14 degrees south of here,” she told the radar tech. “Give or take a degree or two.”

The lieutenant shouted out the coordinates to the navigator, and the boat swung to the right.

“Easy there, Bandit,” Jane said, as she tried to make her way up top. The wind caught her when she reached the deck, and she pulled the blanket in tighter. The doctor joined her, and surreptitiously handed her a small flask. She raised an eyebrow, but took it anyway.

“Doctor Michael Gregoro,” he introduced himself.

“Jane Rizzoli,” she replied.

He smiled. “I know who you are. It’s a very brave thing you did today.”

She tried to wave away the compliment. “It’s not brave. It’s just what I do.”

“You and your co-pilot.”

“My partner,” she smiled. “Yeah.”

_When we get back, the marshall will want to know everything, but do you think we could hide away for a little while? I want to take you back to our spot, with some wine and all the cheese and fruit we can carry._

Jane reached up and wiped away a tear with the back of her hand.

“Everything okay?” Gregoro asked.

She nodded, but the tears continued to fall. “Yeah. I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“Relief. Stress. You’ve had a hell of a day. Are you in any pain?”

“Ranger Rizzoli!” Ensign Crest re-appeared on the top deck. “Marshal Pentecost is on the comm line. Says he wants to talk to you.”

“Tell him I’ll call back.” She took one last swig from the flask and handed it back to the doctor with a smirk. “The only pain I have is the one in my ass. And I already know the cause.” The wind whipped her hair and she brought up a hand to shield against it. “Does that look like a big piece of shiny something to you, Doc?”

He squinted into the distance. “As opposed to the other pieces of shiny somethings? Yes, I’d say so.”

The tears came again, but this time, she let them fall.

…..

From the minute they had pulled Maura from the pod, Jane couldn’t seem to take her hands off her. Even as the doctor checked for injuries and reflexes, Jane wouldn’t break contact, and on the way back, they had nearly made out in the captain’s quarters, huddled together under a blanket, hands everywhere.

 _It’s the adrenaline rush,_  Maura explained between feverish kisses.  _The hypothalamus signals the adrenal gland to release adrenaline directly to the blood stream. It’ll wear off in about an hour._

_Your science talk is so sexy._

Stacker was notably absent when they arrived, but had given orders for them to wash up, get dressed, and return to his office within the hour. Roaming hands and eager mouths cut the time close, but Maura’s insistence on punctuality had them stepping over the threshold with a minute to spare. The marshal sat stock still, elbows on his desk, fingers steepled, pressed against his chin. The room was unusually quiet.

“I suddenly feel like I’ve been called to the principal’s office,” Jane said in a mock-whisper to Maura.

“I would think you’d take this a bit more seriously, considering you lost Solomon’s Fist.” Stacker’s baritone was flat and even, and she had the good grace to look embarrassed. Standing, he placed his finger tips on the desk, tapping as if trying to organize his thoughts. Quietly, he came around and stood in front of them, large and authoritative. “A machine that will cost over a billion dollars to replace. An attack decision so foolhardy that I still can’t quite believe it actually worked, or that both of you are still alive. Do either of you have anything to say?”

Maura opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by a quiet order from Jane.

“Nothing, ladies?” He rolled back on his heels. “Fine, I’ll do all the talking.” He looked directly at Jane. “You. Are the best Ranger I have ever had the honour of knowing.”

Jane blinked. This was clearly not what she was expecting. “Sir?”

He let out a short chuckle. “Mark this day on the calendar. She called me ‘sir’. Ranger, I would give you a hug, but I know you’re not the type.”

“Well, you know,” she said, casting her gaze to the floor, “I could make this one exception.”

The two embraced long and hard. When Stacker finally stepped back, he coughed away the lump in his throat and said, “Looks like it’s a day of firsts.” He glanced over to Maura and put his hand in his pocket. “Let me be the first to congratulate you, Maura. Or should I say, ‘Ranger Isles’?” He pulled out a small medallion and held it out to her.

Jane immediately put her arms around the stunned woman.  _I’m so proud of you._

“I… I don’t know what to say,” she stammered.

“I know I gave you 48 hours to make a decision,” Pentecost said, “but I’m hoping there isn’t much of a decision to make.”

“No. I mean, yes, I’m honoured to take the promotion. Thank you, Stacks.”

His eyes narrowed and he waved a finger between them. “Did she tell you to say that?” She opened her mouth to deny the accusation, but he reminded her, “Vasovagal, Maura.”

“She…well…we’ve taken up enough of your time already, sir.”

“Mmm-hmmm. Just one more point of business before you go.” His attention turned to Jane. “The Jumphawk schedule has been pushed back due to today’s events. Did you want to know the new departure time?”

“You really think I’m gonna be on it?”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t dream of presuming to know what you’re thinking at any one time, Ranger.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Jane smirked. “I’ll have to talk it over with my partner here, but I think I might want to get into training. You know, be an instructor.”

“Really?” Maura asked, pleasantly surprised.

“Sure. I mean, it’ll take months to get the back-up Jaeger fully operational, and we’ve seen the state of the training around here.” She could barely hide the smile when she saw Stacker’s face.

“Get out,” he ordered.

Jane laughed and pulled Maura to her, kissing the top of her head. “C’mon, we’ve got some celebrating to do. I might even get Frost some crème brûlée.”

…..

_Everything okay?_

Maura turned her head to the unspoken question.

Jane gave her as sheepish grin. “Sorry. I’ll stop doing that.”

“No,” Maura shook her head. “I mean, no, don’t stop doing that.” She hooked her arm through Jane’s as they made their way down the hall. “I’m fine. It’s just…a lot has happened in the last 24 hours. Almost feels like a dream.”

She nodded her understanding. “Well, Stacks was too polite to say it in light of everything, but an appointment with a shrink will be mandatory.”

Maura gave this some thought and said, “That’s probably a good idea. I feel very…”

“Discombobulated?” When Maura’s eyes widened in delight, Jane clenched her free hand in a victorious fist. “Yes! I’ve been waiting my whole life to use that word.”

Maura lightly pinched Jane’s side, and the two walked a bit in silence. Curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, “You don’t feel that way? Discombobulated?”

Jane’s smile was followed by a shrug. “You know I do.”

Images of a terrified Jane, bolting upright at 3 in the morning, terrified and alone, flashed across Maura’s mind. With a squeeze of Jane’s arm and all the conviction in her heart, she said, “I won’t leave you alone, I promise.”

“I thought that was supposed to be my promise to you.”

“Why don’t we promise it to each other?”

“Deal,” Jane smiled. When they stopped outside a familiar door, she frowned in minor confusion. “The Combat Room?”

Maura tugged her arm and pulled her inside. “If you’re going to be an instructor, I thought perhaps you’d like to practice on someone who can challenge you.”

Jane wrapped her hands around the blonde’s waist. “I know what I’d like to be practicing on you.” Once the comment got the intended eye roll, she smiled. “This doesn’t have anything to do with us ending our last round in a stalemate, does it?”

Maura stuck out her bottom lip. “You know I can’t lie.”

Tapping their foreheads with her finger, she said, “And even if you could…” She lightly kissed Maura. “We haven’t talked about this. About me being an instructor, I mean.”

Maura tilted her head in confusion. “You know I’ll support whatever decision you make.”

“I know. But…you just got promoted, and I’m already talking about doing something else.”

“Oh,” Maura replied. “Don’t worry; I assume they’ll just drift me with someone else.” Jane’s expression darkened and Maura burst out laughing. “Oh, Jane! If you could only see your face!” Realizing the brunette was having no part in the humour, Maura cleared her throat. “Is this a good time to be handing you a weapon?”

Jane snatched the stick from her hand, but couldn’t help but wink.

“What I meant to say was,” she continued, grabbing her own weapon, “it will be at least a year before a new Jaeger gets built. It makes sense that you would want to do something in the meantime. I might consider asking to be part of the construction team. I think it would be fascinating to be involved from the ground up. I already have some ideas on how to improve the response system.”

“Whoa, slow down, Poindexter,” Jane smiled with relief.

“What I’m saying is, when the time comes, we’ll make a decision.” She punctuated her sentence with a well-executed foot sweep that sent Jane sprawling.

From the floor, Jane blinked in surprise, but quickly covered her predicament with a shrug. “I knew you were going to do that,” she said, looking up at a bemused Maura.

She pursed her lips together and nodded. “And I knew that you knew.”

She held out her hand to help Jane to her feet, but the brunette had other ideas. With a gentle yet firm tug, she pulled Maura to the ground.

“Hey!”

“What? ” Jane asked innocently. “I’m just claiming my post-celebration kiss.”

Maura’s eyes narrowed. “But you didn’t win.”

Jane looked down and hummed at the pleasure of having their bodies pressed together, their legs entwined, and her hands in Maura’s back pockets. Her gaze travelled back up and were met by warm hazel eyes that had just a touch of mischief. Quite literally reading her thoughts, Jane quipped, “Didn’t I?”

…

end.


End file.
